


The Mission

by Ardwynna



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: BDSM, Humor, Kink, M/M, Multi, Roleplay, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-07-06
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2017-10-10 10:18:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 79,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ardwynna/pseuds/Ardwynna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Angeal abandons them for his puppy, Sephiroth and Genesis find something else to keep themselves occupied. Something small, cute and blond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Battle Plans

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

Genesis let himself fall into the seat with a heavy sigh. It was, perhaps, a tad melodramatic but Sephiroth's grasp of more subtle cues was still unreliable. In fact, Sephiroth was at that very moment reorganizing his file cabinet and ignoring Genesis's perfectly pitched display entirely. Genesis took it up a notch and sighed most piteously.

Sephiroth paused at his file cabinet. He blinked. Then he looked around. "Is something wrong, Genesis?"

Well, finally. "Angeal locked me out again."

"Did you knock?"

The sigh this time was internal and genuine. "It wouldn't do any good," Genesis said. "He's having another one of those shut-away weekends with that trainee of his."

"The puppy?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes, the puppy."

Sephiroth frowned. "I don't see how that's any reason to complain," he said, digging further into the drawer. "Angeal says it's working."

"Yes," Genesis drawled, "but then I get stuck out here with nothing better to do than stare at your ass."

Sephiroth turned. "Does my ass not meet your approval?"

Genesis scoffed lightly. "Your ass is divine, Seph, my dear, but you know what I mean."

Sephiroth nodded. "I know. You miss Angeal's ass."

"Not his ass, specifically," Genesis murmured.

Sephiroth understood that too. He set a stack of files down on his desk and stared at it. "I suppose it's worth the sacrifice on our part if SOLDIER benefits. Angeal swears his student is showing progress."

"Oh, yes, such _great_ progress." Genesis scowled. "Especially if you judge by that smirk Angeal has every Monday morning."

"Angeal should be proud," Sephiroth continued. "If his pup is showing that much promise I think we should implement Angeal's training program in the rest of SOLDIER."

"Sephiroth," Genesis said, "that training starts with handcuffs and lots of screaming."

"So?" Sephiroth replied. "A little interrogation resistance training would do some of the younger ones some... oh." Sephiroth tilted his head to puzzle it out. "Wait."

"Yes, Sephiroth?"

"You mean all this time..."

"Yes, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth mulled it over and frowned. "And he never offered to share."

"No, Sephiroth." Genesis grunted. "He's possessive about that new one."

"That's no good." Sephiroth smacked a folder down. "I though we agreed to share everything."

"We did!" Genesis sat up in his seat. "So what are we going to do about this?"

Sephiroth grew distant. Genesis said nothing, not wanting to interrupt while Sephiroth was in the zone. "I think," Sephiroth said. "I think..."

"Yes?" Genesis prompted.

"I think we should implement Angeal's training program in the rest of SOLDIER."

"YES! Wait, what?"

"Think about it," Sephiroth said, neatening his stack of folders. "If he doesn't share with us..."

"Then we don't share with him!" Genesis grinned. "Make him jealous?"

"Very."

Genesis felt much better now. "I like it, but it's not the kind of thing I would expect from you, Seph."

"Yes, well..." Sephiroth ducked his head into his paperwork. "Element of surprise, right?"

"Ah, excellent." Genesis stood, looking refreshed and alert. "Only one problem. What if Angeal's so satisfied with this young one that he doesn't care?"

Sephiroth crossed his arms and pondered it. "We'd still get to have our way with some of the fine young things in SOLDIER." He cleared his throat slightly. "Or even the cadets, if they're willing."

Genesis took that in. "Cadets, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth glanced around. "There's this... blond one."

Genesis smirked. He and Angeal were always the ones pulling Sephiroth along. It was about time the man started showing some interest of his own. "Let's not waste anymore time, then. Come on. You can tell me about your little blond on the way down." Oh, yes. Sexile was looking up.


	2. Special Assignment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Special Assignment**

"Cadet Strife."

"SIR!"

"At ease, Cadet." Sephiroth leaned forward on his desk, fingers steepled. Cloud swallowed, awaiting his doom. Sephiroth took a deep breath. "You have come to my attention, Cadet Strife, due to various traits and attributes." He paused, twisting his lips slightly as if he didn't know how to continue. Cloud made a small nod of acknowledgment because it seemed the proper thing to do even if he had no idea what he was acknowledging.

Sephiroth frowned and began again. "Various traits and attributes," he repeated, but did not elaborate. Instead, he stopped again to look Cloud over.

Cloud felt the dread growing at his core. He was about to get tossed out for being a runt, he just knew it. He fought the hysterical laughter bubbling up inside. It wasn't so bad, his brain said. At least it was private and he was closer to THE General Sephiroth than he had ever dreamed he would be.

"I have considered this for quite some time now," Sephiroth continued, expression unreadable and unchanging, "and I believe that should you be willing, you will be quite suitable."

"Oh, for the love of Gaia, Seph," General Rhapsodos cut in from the couch behind Sephiroth. "You're making this sound like you're sending him behind enemy lines or something."

Sephiroth's expression did change then, into an irritated scowl. "How would you do it?" he hissed, spinning his chair around.

Genesis rose, smiling slightly, and put one elegant hand on the back of Sephiroth's chair to spin him around to the front again. Genesis bent low to put his head closer to Sephiroth's level and kept his eyes on Cloud. "Cadet Strife," he said, "Sephiroth has said, and I agree, that you are an extremely attractive young man, and we would like to take you on a date."

Cloud blinked at them.

"Genesis!" Sephiroth snarled. "You can't just blurt it out like that!"

"Why not? It's better than that Top Secret Assignment thing you were doing."

"It _is_ Top Secret! You realize how close we're cutting it dating a cadet?"

"_If_ he agrees, Seph," Genesis said pointedly, "and if you'd continued with your little mission briefing method, I wouldn't blame him for turning us down."

Sephiroth turned away with a huff. "So it's my fault then? Where do you get off being so _forward_."

"It's not forward, Seph, it's forthright, and you of all people shouldn't have a problem with that. Besides, what's wrong with being forward now and then?"

"It's wrong when it's a cadet you're propositioning!"

"Oh, and being oblique isn't an invitation for a sexual harassment charge?"

Cloud looked up. He blinked again but the bickering Generals didn't go away. "Okay," he said.

"What?" Both men turned and stared.

Cloud shrugged. "I said okay. Let's go on a date."

Genesis sputtered. "Just like that?"

"Yes, Strife, uh, Cloud." Sephiroth was all concern. "Don't you have any questions?"

"Yes, like how we're going to keep this under wraps?" Genesis perched on the edge of the desk. "Or how dates work with three people?"

"Not really," Cloud said, shaking his head, smiling openly at them both. "I mean, obviously this is just some dream, so there's no harm in saying 'yes'."

The Generals shared a glance. "He thinks he's dreaming," Sephiroth said.

Genesis cocked his head. "I think we'd better wake him up."

Three weeks later, Cloud was blindfolded and nursing rug burn in Sephiroth's apartment.


	3. Deep Cover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Deep Cover**

"Sephiroth, I have a confession to make."

"Hm?" Sephiroth barely looked up from his files.

"I've come terribly close to sinning today," Genesis continued breezily, stretching himself out on the seat.

"How so?"

"I saw a delectable little blond boy in the hallways today. Trooper, pretty as they come, eyes like the sky." Genesis trailed off, staring at the ceiling. "I really wanted to drag him into a dark corner and have my wicked way with him, but I resisted! Oh, how I resisted!" He sighed dramatically, playing it up and enjoying every minute of it. "Aren't you proud of me?"

Sephiroth smirked. "Very." His sigh was more genuine. "I wish we could drag him into dark corners. He makes such a cute sound when he's surprised."

"Doesn't he, though?" Genesis righted himself. "And then he tells us not to call him our 'little chickabo'. He's too precious sometimes."

"Hmm." Sephiroth actually paused in his stamp-and-signing to contemplate. "I wish it wouldn't cause such a scandal."

"So do I." Genesis picked at at the seam in the upholstery. "Sephiroth," he said quietly. "I was very good today, wasn't I?"

Sephiroth looked up. He knew this game. "Yes. You were a good boy, Genesis, resisting temptation."

"And don't good boys deserve a reward?" Genesis asked coyly.

Sephiroth set his paperwork down. "Come over here and get it."

-.-.-

"You like duck, don't you?"

"Um..." Cloud knew the right answer was 'yes', but the glazed meat with intricately carved vegetable garnishing laid out on the china before him was hardly recognizable as duck. At least, not duck as he knew it. "I guess."

Sephiroth grumbled. "Told you we should have ordered the fish."

"Fish was two dates ago," Genesis snapped under his breath. "And La Couronne makes excellent duck."

"Uh, sirs?" Cloud still hadn't broken out of the habit. "You really don't need to do all this for me, you know." He eyed the table, set with crystal, silver and a spotless tablecloth. It was a bit much for a boy from the mountains.

Genesis put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "But how else can we make it up to you? We can't take you out of the building." Not with cameras ready to flash, tongues ready to wag, and Turks ready to carry out ridiculous orders. It was as much for Cloud's safety as theirs.

"Look, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but even if we have to date inside the building, you don't need to do all this."

Sephiroth looked down. "Don't you like it, Cloud?"

Cloud swallowed. "Well, not really. I don't know how to pronounce any of this stuff." He looked down at his feet. "And I never know what fork to use."

Sephiroth brightened. "Neither do I! Well, I didn't for a long time."

"Seph?" Genesis' face was puzzled.

Sephiroth put his arm around Cloud's shoulder and gestured at the set-up. "There's no need to worry too much about all this. It's just how Genesis preens for his new mates. He did the same thing when we started seeing each other."

"Hey, Sephiroth." Genesis ran around to face the man. "You never told me you didn't like it either."

"Angeal told me not to hurt your feelings."

Genesis wanted to have a snappy comeback for that but the urge faded quickly. "What is it with me and all these unschooled country boys?" He slumped somewhat and blew his hair out of his eyes. "So, shall we just scoop it all up and take it to the couch then?"

-.-.-

"No."

"Please?"

"I said 'no', and 'no' means 'no'. Banana no!"

"Back off, Seph, he's serious about this one."

Sephiroth frowned. "But I made sure to lube it really well."

Cloud propped himself up on his elbows and clamped his legs shut tight. "I said NO, Sephiroth. No toys bigger than a soda can!"

Sephiroth sighed and set the dildo down on the nightstand. "Okay." He slid off the bed and reached for his robe.

Cloud and Genesis followed his moves, perplexed. "Sephiroth," Genesis called, "where are you going? He didn't say we had to stop everything."

"I'll just be a minute," he answered, and left.

Cloud looked at Genesis. "I didn't mean to run him off. Is he okay?"

Genesis scooted closer to Cloud and wrapped his arms around the boy. "He's like that sometimes. I'm sure he's fine, probably just gone to burn off the excess, if you know what I mean." Cloud burrowed against Genesis' chest, on the verge of being very upset.

Sephiroth, true to his word, was back in a minute. "Where'd you go?" Genesis hissed at him, cuddling Cloud closer. "You almost ruined the whole night."

"I didn't mean to," Sephiroth said in earnest. "I just wanted to make sure." He held up the fruit of a late trip to the vending machines. He began to root around their toy chest for comparison.

Cloud peered out from his nest in Genesis' arms. "What are you doing?"

"Measuring," Sephiroth said.

Genesis and Cloud glanced at each other. "Did you have to get grape?" Genesis grumbled. "You know I hate grape."

"That's exactly why I got it," Sephiroth said, selecting a slender plug just the color of Cloud's eyes. "So you won't be stealing it to take a sip when I need it for measuring. Now pass me a condom."

-.-.-

"How come you weren't more surprised, Cloud?" Genesis asked one morning.

"Surprised about what?" Cloud squirted more body wash onto the sponge. Apple. It was always apple with Genesis.

"That we found you pretty."

"What, didn't I act flattered enough for you?" Cloud smirked up at Genesis and continued to scrub. "Half the base was already trying to get into my pants."

"What?"

Cloud shrugged. "You know, buncha guys, locked up and stressed out, no girls around." His motion slowed just a fraction. "They'll go for the next best thing, apparently." He didn't say anymore. Genesis stared down at his small lover and tried to see blue eyes and blond hair instead of only red.

-.-.-

"Fifty push-ups, you pansies! And then fifty more! God, I can't believe I've got to man up such a bunch of sissies! And quit your whining! The way you girls carry on it's like you expect the Generals themselves to come down here and rescue you! Well I got news for you, dollfaces. You might be as queer as a duck in a g-string but ain't a one of you pretty enough for that! Not even you, Strife, so get that smirk off your face and give me fifty more!

-.-.-

"Excellent reflexes, Cadet," Sephiroth commended. This was the General speaking and his rare compliments were a prize. "Quick thinking under fire and complete mastery of the equipment."

"Not to mention a superb job rescuing your comrades in arms," Genesis said, stepping from the smoke.

Cloud blushed. "Yeah, well..." He set the fire extinguisher down and glanced around the ruined kitchen. "Thanks, and all that, but next time we could just order pizza."

-.-.-

"You pitiful excuse for a thespian!" Genesis shouted at the screen. "You're not fit to be an organ grinder's monkey."

"He does know they can't hear him, right?" Cloud asked, looking up at Sephiroth.

"Shh, just let him yell. It's more entertaining than the movie." Sephiroth helped Cloud balance the giant bowl of popcorn in his lap.

"I heard that!" Genesis turned on them. "Honestly, some people have no appreciation for the classics." He turned back to the screen with a huff. Sephiroth and Cloud huddled closer on the couch, smothering snickers.

"Ugh, that delivery is pitiful!" Genesis soared to his feet as the actor flubbed another line. "I've seen better acting from a drunk sewer rat!" He twitched as popcorn hit him in the ear.

"Down in front!" Cloud said. Genesis turned and glared.

"Watch out, Gen," Sephiroth warned, scooping up more popcorn. "This stuff's buttered."

-.-.-

Sephiroth sat in his tent and ate a lonely dinner. His phone rang when he was halfway through. A continent away, in a field just as bare, what Genesis said was "Hello". 'I miss you' was what he didn't.

They spoke about enemy movements. They chattered briefly about the weather, because it affected troop placement. They even complained, obscurely, about orders, because that was expected of military men.

They didn't talk about empty beds, or missing friends, or the one they couldn't call because he was ranked too lowly to have his own phone.

-.-.-

They didn't give Cloud their schedules. It wasn't just the relationship that had to stay secret. Cloud usually found out anyway, on his time off. They had given him keys, after all.

Sometimes he fixed himself a sandwich. Other times he hugged his knees and watched TV. Most times he curled up in the center of that big bed and slept for a while, dreaming of leather and apples.

-.-.-

"Shh," Sephiroth whispered. "Don't wake him."

"Of course not," Genesis replied, slipping off his coat. "We have all day tomorrow, don't we?" Sephiroth nodded and inched closer to Cloud. There was much to be said for weekends, Cloud not needing to be hurried back to the barracks being just the first.

Genesis stripped down and slid between the covers. He was careful but Cloud's eyes fluttered open anyway. He stirred slightly in Sephiroth's arms, making a low sound.

"It's okay, Cloud," Sephiroth said, stroking his hair. "We're here."

Genesis brushed Cloud's cheek with long fingers. "Go back to dreaming, Little Chickabo."

"Mmm," Cloud mumbled, rolling over. " 's a good dream." But it was more than that.


	4. Code Word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Warnings: **BDSM themes, mishaps and misadventures. ;D

**The Mission**

**Code Word**

When Genesis came in, Sephiroth was on the couch getting a blowjob. The unfortunate little whore was small and ferociously blond. It seemed he must have struggled a bit because there were telltale red handprints on his backside.

Genesis smirked. "Looks like that one gave you some trouble."

Sephiroth stretched a little. Leather creaked against leather. "Worth every scrape," he said, tightening a gloved hand in the wild blond hair. The boy made a whimper of protest but it died quickly. "It's hardly worth the effort fucking the ones that don't fight back."

Genesis turned his back on the scene to hang up his coat. It seemed to take longer than usual and his gloves were sticking in place. In the meantime, the moans behind him were only getting louder. So like Sephiroth to rub it in.

When Genesis looked back, Sephiroth was murmuring poisonous encouragement. The boy made a muffled cry as his head was forced further down. Genesis struggled not to shift and give away his discomfort, but the strain below the belt was becoming hard to bear.

Sephiroth leaned his head back in the seat and worked the boy in a steady rhythm. His eyes were closed and he moistened his lips repeatedly between satisfied groans. Genesis made his way over.

"How long have you had him up here?" he asked. Sephiroth didn't answer. Genesis scowled and nudged Sephiroth's foot with his boot. "Sephiroth, I said how long have you been working him over?"

Sephiroth's eyes fluttered. He looked up languidly. "An hour or two. Problem with that?"

Genesis crossed his arms. "Over an hour and you didn't invite me up to share?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I figured you'd get here sooner or later." He slid his hands along the seat cushion and fished up a tube of lube. He tossed it to Genesis with an arch look. "Quit complaining and join in if you want."

"Hm!" Genesis set the lubricant down and began to work on his belts, using the time to study the kneeling boy. He couldn't see the little one's face too well but he knew Sephiroth's tastes well enough to be sure the boy must be pretty. His body certainly was. Sephiroth had his hand buried too deeply into the blond hair for Genesis to try ruffling it himself, but the spikes seemed utterly natural from what he could see.

He did not bother to undress, just undid his fly and got down on his knees. He pulled the boy back and spread his legs.

"Easy," Sephiroth hissed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't jerk him around while his teeth are up here."

"What?" Genesis challenged. "Can't handle a little pain?" The boy was already slick inside from whatever else Sephiroth had done to him, so Genesis didn't waste any time.

The boy groaned at the first and then began to thrash. Sephiroth's cock slid from his mouth and the boy began to scream.

"Strawberry! Goddamn strawberry!"

Genesis froze. Sephiroth sat up immediately. "Cloud, what's wrong?"

"Here, let me get out-" Genesis began but Cloud had locked his ankles tight and wouldn't let the SOLDIER move.

"Don't you think of even breathing, you bastard!" Cloud glared over his shoulder, eyes watering.

"Cloud," Sephiroth said, leaning down. "What's the matter?"

Cloud looked up, face going red. "My hair's caught in his belt or something."

Sephiroth's eyes went wide as he carefully trained his gaze downwards. "Oh, no."

Genesis tightened his grip on Cloud. "Is it bad?"

"Of course it's bad," Cloud snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you no anal while you're fully dressed. You stubborn asshole!"

Genesis couldn't deny it but he would have to deal with the fallout later. "Why are you just standing there?" he hissed at Sephiroth. "Get a scissors or something!"

"Right!" Sephiroth tore himself away and ran to the kitchen.

Genesis carefully leaned back, pulling Cloud with him. "Cloud, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, save it for when my pubes aren't getting yanked out one by one, 'kay?" Cloud growled. Genesis wisely shut his mouth and listened to the racket Sephiroth was making in the kitchen.

There was a large crash, as if Sephiroth had resorted to tossing the contents of the knife drawer to the ground. Sephiroth himself came racing out, holding his undone pants up with one hand. Genesis scowled. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to run with scissors?" Sephiroth ignored him.

Cloud took one look and began to twitch. "That's not scissors!" he protested.

"I couldn't find any," Sephiroth said, nearly wailing. "This is the next best thing." He brandished the bread knife. Genesis would have slapped him if not for the distance.

"Sephiroth, you can't cut hair with a serrated knife."

"You're not putting anything that big near my dick!" Cloud hissed. Sephiroth blinked, completely at a loss.

Genesis thought as quickly as he could. "Get a small knife, one of the smooth, sharp ones."

"Like the one with the orange handle?" Sephiroth asked. They used it to cut nearly everything.

"Yeah, that'll do."

Sephiroth had the knife quickly and Genesis held a very tense Cloud still while the job was done.

"You guys better not cut me," Cloud growled, head thrown back so that the words were right by Genesis' ear.

"I won't," Sephiroth said.

There were three hairs in all that had curled around Genesis' belt buckles. With a light touch on the scrotum and some very careful flicks of the knife, Sephiroth had them cut in no time. As soon as he was released, Cloud jumped off of Genesis and ran to the bathroom to lock himself in.

Genesis collapsed to the carpet with a slight groan. Sephiroth scoffed. "What, was he rough on you?" he asked, looking at the area Genesis was favoring. "You can't say you don't deserve it." He slumped into his armchair and unabashedly sulked.

Genesis lay curled up on the floor for a moment, then very slowly righted himself. "What are you so upset for? I'm the one who just had the banana bent the wrong way." He looked down and prodded himself gingerly.

"Oh, speaking of bananas," Sephiroth began bitterly, "Did you notice how that was the safeword Cloud _didn't_ use?" He crossed his arms and pouted. He hadn't even bothered to zip up his pants. "There I was having a great time and you come along and wreck it all."

"Spare me your theatrics, Sephiroth. I don't feel like dealing with them right now."

"You mean the way I always have to deal with yours?"

"Hey!" There was a loud pounding on the bathroom door. "You idiots keep it down! I can hear you from here!"

The SOLDIERs broke off in a bitter silence. Genesis took a deep breath, looking askance. "It was an accident," he said.

"One that wouldn't have happened if you'd taken Cloud's requests to heart," Sephiroth grumbled. Genesis thought he heard something like 'self-centered asshole' afterward, but he couldn't be sure.

Wearily, Genesis set about getting his pants in proper order. Sephiroth had a point, at least in this case. As far as Genesis was concerned, rules were usually made to be bent, if not broken, but that kind of thinking didn't stand with a lover involved, and an unenhanced one at that. Genesis sighed. He looked up but Sephiroth was gone.

He found the General outside the bathroom door, ear to the frame and eyes to the ground. "Cloud," Sephiroth was saying,, trying to speak above the sound of the shower, "do you need anything?"

"I've had quite enough already, thank you very much," was the spiteful reply.

"Cloud," Genesis began and stumbled over the next bit. He hated to do this. "Cloud, I'm sorry. I should have undressed properly."

"Yeah, you should have," Cloud grunted. Genesis folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth asked. "Do you need some help in there? You know we have potions out here."

"And materia," Genesis added, "Lots of materia."

They heard Cloud turn the shower off and take a towel off the rack. They had put a set aside just for him, bright blue like his eyes, and a little yellow chickabo washcloth, just because. "Cloud?" Sephiroth asked again.

The pattern of light under the door shifted. He was right there. "Could you guys get me an ice pack?" Cloud asked. The fire didn't seem to be raging anymore, but something was still smoldering.

"Right away, Cloud," Genesis said and headed for the kitchen. Sephiroth followed.

"What are you going to do?" Sephiroth whispered. "We don't have an ice pack." SOLDIERs usually just hit each other with a low level ice spell, but that would not do for Cloud.

"We've got frozen peas, don't we?" Genesis asked and began to root through the freezer.

Sephiroth shook his head. "Used the last of them in that soup we made Cloud yesterday."

"Damn." Genesis kept looking.

"We have a frozen chunky veg mix," Sephiroth put in.

Genesis considered it. "Nah, too lumpy."

"How about that?" Sephiroth pointed.

Genesis stared at him. "My gourmet strawberry ice cream?"

"The carton's just the right size to fit over the affected area," Sephiroth explained.

Genesis frowned. "Yeah, but how do you expect me to eat it after it's been on Cloud's cock."

"Seeing as how you've got Cloud's cock in your mouth a lot anyway, with gusto, I'd expect."

"I see your point." Genesis took the carton out.

Cloud was still in the bathroom when they got there. Sephiroth knocked lightly. "Cloud? We brought ice cream." They heard Cloud sigh.

"I didn't ask for ice cream."

"But wouldn't you like some anyway?" Genesis asked. "It's really delicious and the carton's good and cold."

There was a pause. "What flavor?"

"You did say 'strawberry'," Sephiroth said.

Cloud groaned. "I don't like strawberry."

Genesis was confused. "That's not what you said that night with the syrup and the whipped-"

"Ice cream!" Cloud clarified. "I don't like strawberry ice cream."

"You don't have to eat it, Cloud," Sephiroth said. "Just use the carton while it's cold and Gen will finish it later."

Cloud grunted. "Gen's not finishing anything around here. And don't think everything's going to be okay just because you try bribing me with your super-high-fat ice cream."

"Well, what can we bribe you with?" Genesis was as close to miserable as he'd been in a long time.

For an agonizing while, there was no answer. Then the light under the door shifted again. "I want barbecue."

"You can have barbecue," Sephiroth declared in relief.

"And I want to sit in Sephiroth's chair." It was easily the most comfortable in the apartment.

"You can sit in Sephiroth's chair," Genesis answered. Sephiroth twitched.

"And I want to watch a movie. And Genesis can't pick it."

"We'll get you a movie, then," Sephiroth said, "and I promise there'll be plenty of explosions." Genesis groaned. "Hush," Sephiroth whispered at him. "It's your fault we're in the dog house in the first place."

Genesis sighed. "Cloud? The ice cream's out here when you're ready. We'll just go arrange everything, but don't let it melt completely, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

There was nothing more to be done there, so Sephiroth went to consult the delivery section in the phonebook.

Watching the movie proved awkward for the First Classes. They squeezed themselves into the loveseat to give Cloud his space. He accepted a box full of barbecued chicken wings and ribs well enough, but wouldn't let them near to either pet or soothe. He was obnoxiously loud at the movie's start, cheering for the over-muscled hero with the suspicious accent. Genesis had half a mind to tell him to keep it down, but Sephiroth stopped him with a light kick to the shins.

It turned out not to matter much. Cloud piped down about halfway through the movie and was silent right through the credits.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth asked. There was no answer. Cloud had fallen asleep.

The Firsts approached carefully. Asleep, dressed only in boxers and curled up in a nest of large fleece blankets, Cloud looked angelically touchable again. And terrifyingly young.

"We are sick men," Genesis said suddenly.

"He's old enough," Sephiroth answered, though he also had his doubts. "We take good care of him." He scooped Cloud up, blankets and all. "He won't be mad at us forever, right?"

"Not likely, no," Genesis agreed as they carried Cloud to bed. Still, Genesis resolved as they tucked the boy in, they'd better make him pancakes in the morning just in case. Pancakes with bananas and strawberries.


	5. Prisoner of War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Notes:** Hi there, everyone! Thank you all so much for the response! As you noticed, Cloud really does have his SOLDIER boys whipped! He was such a tough little guy before failing his entrance exam, along with everything else that made him doubt himself. This is Cloud as I think he might have been if life had spoiled him a bit instead of beating him up in a hurry. Don't worry, his SOLDIER boys can't let him get away with _everything_. ;D

**Warnings**: BDSM themes, bondage, knifeplay.

**The Mission**

**Prisoner of War**

He shivered when they brought out the knives. The quiet one liked to use them on him, trailing the fine points along his skin while the noisy one watched and made lewd suggestions. Cloud tried not shake as he felt the honed edge glide down his throat.

They had not cut him yet and wouldn't, not if he behaved himself and gave them what they wanted. There had been a few close calls though, when he thrashed too hard in his bindings, before he learned to be still.

He had tried confessing, making up information that he thought they would want until he realized it wasn't information they wanted from him. He still had the marks from that first night, rings left by rough rope around his ankles, binding him down for them. Hysterical laughter bubbled up and died just as quickly as the knife slid past one peaked nipple.

They kept him bound these days, one way or another. He tried, always tried, to squirm his way out, to find something sharp he could hide between his fingers. The loud one always caught him though, watchful as he was noisy. And then the knives began. Cloud stared straight ahead, not wanting to see where the blade trailed, over a chest crossed with hemp rope and still marred by their teeth.

That was what they had wanted all along. If he hadn't been bound up at the time he could have kicked himself. No one wanted what information a grunt like him might have and he was too low down the pole to be any worth as a bargaining chip. No one would come looking for him. No one would care. He was theirs to play with and so they played.

They took far too much joy out of seeing how far his body could bend, in wrapping that rough rope around him in intricate patterns. They used him like a practice toy, in more ways than one and he protested every time, till they brought out the knives and made him quake down to his knees even as he grew hopelessly hard. He had considered begging more than once, afraid of the edge, of the threat, of his own complete _helplessness_ before them, but one steady, challenging stare from the quiet one and the words died on his lips. No, he would not give in so easily.

The point of the knife dipped into Cloud's navel and he whimpered despite every intention not to. The noisy one murmured something in gutter Wutai speech. Cloud could have laughed. He was picking it up, bit by bit. Strange way to learn a language.

The quiet one agreed and the knife was set aside for the moment. Cloud tried to twist away but he was hoisted up over a broad shoulder and hauled off to the bed. He hit the mattress hard, face down. They were on him before he could roll away, pressing down on his shoulders and stroking his legs. He tried kicking backwards and earned a stinging slap for the effort. His arms were bound straight behind his back, wrists encased by coils of rope too intricate to follow. There were so few options for retaliation and Cloud knew he wasn't strong enough for any of them.

The silent one pulled Cloud's hips up. The sound of the zipper had him biting his lips. He breathed hard over the slick sounds of preparation, bracing himself for the inevitable. The first thrust drove a muffled cry from his throat, then another. There was one more as his face was pushed into the stifling bedding. He had no leverage to turn himself, much less get free. He could barely breathe.

"Hey, ease up," he heard the noisy one whisper. The thrusting paused momentarily and large hands reached down, turning Cloud's head carefully to the side. "Okay?" Bright eyes smirked down at him. Cloud barely had time to nod before he was being pounded into the mattress again.

"Go easy on him, okay? He's still sore from last time," the noisy one chided. Cloud tried not to laugh. His SOLDIER boys loved their tie-up games and he had to admit, he rather liked them too.


	6. Suspicious Activity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Suspicious Activity**

Angeal was never anyone's first pick for covert ops. He was large-framed and well-muscled. His fighting style was head-on and direct. He didn't go out of his way to stand out but he didn't blend in either. He simply wasn't the type for the job. But Angeal had been handling Genesis long enough to know his way around some situations. He began with a favor.

"Gen, why don't you come over for dinner this weekend? I haven't cooked you something special in a long time."

"Hm? Sorry, 'geal, honey, can't. I've got plans."

"You do?" Angeal blinked. Genesis had barely looked up from his report.

"Mm, yeah, Sephiroth and I have this... thing to take care of."

Angeal frowned. "Off the clock?"

Genesis smirked slightly, still not looking up. "Why, yes, Ange, dear. Besides, aren't you and your puppy still doing all that intense training."

Angeal had to wonder if he had only imagined the tone of that final word. "The pup's improved remarkably. Are you and Sephiroth sparring regularly now?" It was better than brawling.

"What?" Genesis did look up then, but just for a moment. "No, Angeal, we fight enough on the job as it is, don't you think?"

"So you're not fighting with him, then?" Angeal was not sure what to make of that.

"Angeal," Genesis chided, "why would you even think such a thing?"

"The last time I left you two alone together after hours it made the eleven o'clock news."

"Oh, that." Genesis rolled his eyes. "It was his turn to bottom and he was being difficult. But anyway, no, we've worked something out. And I promise if we make the news this time, we'll remember to wear our pants."

Angeal looked unconvinced.

"It's okay, Angeal," Genesis said, waving him off. "Go play with your puppy. Sephiroth and I are big boys now. We don't need a nanny."

"Really."

"Well, you haven't seen the Turks racing for tranquilizer cannons recently, have you?"

Angeal had to allow it. "But are you certain they aren't just slipping drugs into your food."

"We're not fighting, Angeal," Genesis said calmly, his smile a touch more relaxed than usual, his eyes bright and oddly distant. Angeal felt a sudden pang of memory, of a lithe young boy beneath the arch of an apple tree.

"Gen?" His voice almost cracked. That boy had practically disappeared on coming to Midgar.

Genesis appeared to shake himself out of reverie. "It'll be fine, Angeal. I promise you we're not doing anything injurious to each other and we wouldn't dream of interrupting your pup's training schedule. He's quite promising."

"So you two are..."

"Perfectly fine without you for a weekend, Angeal. Seriously." Genesis rolled his eyes.

"Alright, then," Angeal allowed, "if you're sure."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"He's getting curious," Genesis said, plopping down onto the couch to remove his boots. "Consider his interested piqued."

"Good," Sephiroth mumbled past the thermometer in his mouth. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a cold cloth on his head.

"Sephiroth, are you sick?"

"Not one word, General!" A nurse came out from the bathroom with a cup of candy-colored pills. "And you, don't encourage him."

Genesis froze, taking in the white high heels, the slim pencil skirt, the furious glare on the nurse's pretty face and the little cap, precariously perched on spiky hair. The nurse ignored him, coming over to take Sephiroth's blood pressure. Sephiroth tried to resist, crossing his arms tightly under the blanket but the nurse wasn't having it.

"Give me your arm, General, or else you'll get the shot again!"

Sephiroth made a show of reluctantly offering his arm for the cuff.

"Good Goddess on a stick, Sephiroth." Genesis's face twisted.

"Hey," Sephiroth mumbled out of the side of his mouth, "you have your fetishes and I have mine. OW!"

"I said quiet!" the nurse snapped. "Do you want your sponge bath or not?"

"I want it! I'll be good, I promise," Sephiroth said meekly, whimpering as the nurse inflated the cuff extra tight.

Genesis took his boots up and made to slink out the door. "You _are_ sick, Seph, seriously."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So," Angeal began, "how was your weekend?"

"It was... acceptable," Sephiroth said, "as I assume yours was, as well."

"Well..." Angeal resisted the urge to loosen his collar. "It was fine."

"Is the pup much improved?" Sephiroth asked, able to keep the least bit of archness out of his voice.

"He needs more discipline," Angeal grumbled. "He's improved, generally, but he finds his little ways to be impertinent."

"Really? I wouldn't think your methods would allow that."

"Yes, well, it's seems he's become used to me." Angeal sighed.

"What, is he not taking you seriously anymore?" Sephiroth was beginning to have an inkling where this was going.

"I'm afraid he's grown on me," Angeal admitted. "I can't bring myself to be too harsh on him and he knows it."

"Ah, that is a hazard of mentorship," Sephiroth allowed. "Or so I've heard."

"I've been thinking, maybe the pup needs a solid reminder that this is SOLDIER." Angeal almost succeeded in being completely casual about it. "Something to let him know that other people depend on his obedience to the larger structure."

"Oh?"

"He needs to experience training... at other hands, I think. Keep him on his toes, help him adapt, that sort of thing."

"Ah." Sephiroth was resolved to remain dense. He sheathed his sword, straightened his coat and made to leave. "I do wish you the best in finding a suitable tutor for the purpose. I hate to cut this short but I promised Genesis a session. Good luck, Angeal!" He was grinning as he walked away.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"He's hinting very heavily," Sephiroth announced at the door. "Something about the puppy needing more hands in the hands-on part of the his training."

"So he's trying to make it sound legit?" Genesis asked from where he knelt on the floor.

"It would seem that way and _what_ are you doing?"

Genesis looked up, paintbrush in hand. "I'm making fondue, of course. Would you like some?"

Sephiroth tilted his head at the scene. Yes, Genesis did have a fondue pot at his side, apparently with chocolate in it. A large fruit platter lay just beyond that. The most baffling thing, perhaps, was Cloud spread out on the floor, breathing heavily, and nude but for the swirls of melted chocolate Genesis was painting on him. Sephiroth blinked. "That looks messy."

"We put towels down," Genesis said, waving him off. "Come. Have some." He picked up a slice of kiwi and trailed it down Cloud's body, dipping it into the pool of chocolate in the young man's navel. Cloud hissed and trembled, struggling not to move. Genesis placed half the kiwi slice into his mouth and leaned over Cloud, sharing the fruit with him.

Sephiroth slid around to better observe the scene. "That chocolate's not too hot for you, is it, Cloud?" Cloud, cheeks flushed, eyes glistening, did not answer.

Genesis smiled, taking up the paintbrush again. "He's not allowed to speak, Sephiroth, not unless it's an emergency." Cloud squirmed as the brush reached a sensitive spot over his hip. "Or move either," Genesis emphasized, tapping three chocolate dots onto Cloud's stomach, moving closer to the boy's groin before turning for more fruit.

Cloud whimpered, tendons tightening as he fought not to move. Sephiroth squirmed on his behalf. Genesis hummed to himself, smiling as his fingers hovered over slices of cantaloupe. Then, there came a quiet whisper.

"Strawberry."

Genesis turned. "Cloud?"

"Strawberry."

Genesis's mouth fell open, then shut again. He leaned back on his heels, looking disappointed. "I'm sorry. Is it too much?"

"Hm?" Cloud blinked at him. "What? Oh, no, not 'Stop' strawberry. I _want_ a strawberry."

Sephiroth stifled a snort. "You're breaking the rules, Cloud."

"Meh," Cloud said, then gasped as Genesis ran a chilled strawberry down his neck. "Spank me later."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So, how'd it go?" Zack bounced up in his seat.

"Not on the furniture, puppy," Angeal said automatically.

Zack sat down, chastened but eager. "Are they coming over?" he asked. Angeal sank down onto the couch. He looked tired. Zack automatically slid to the floor and rubbed a cheek against Angeal's knee.

"I'm not sure." Angeal frowned at a spot in the floor. "Sephiroth doesn't quite seem to be getting the message and Genesis isn't too interested, which is beyond strange because he's been curious about you all along."

Zack peered up at Angeal. "So... they don't want to share and share alike anymore?" He tried not to sound too disappointed.

"Nothing so definite." Angeal scratched his beard. It was time for a shave and trim. He would have liked to have Zack do it but the kid was still too excitable for Angeal to be entirely comfortable with the idea. "They seem... busy somehow. Taken up with something else besides minding my business." He ruffled Zack's hair. "Come to think of it, Genesis hasn't made any of his usual remarks regarding us for a while now and he and Sephiroth have been really quiet together lately."

"Quiet?"

Angeal sighed. "I should be grateful, I guess, if they've finally learned how to keep each other company without setting the place on fire, and finally leaving me be for more than half a minute besides."

He stood and stretched and went over to the window, Zack at his heels. Angeal frowned at the smoggy rat maze below. "I don't like this."

Zack looked down with him. "Yeah, Midgar is kind of grimy sometimes."

"No, pup, this. The situation." Angeal's eyes narrowed. "They're up to something. I don't know what it is, but I know something's going on."

Zack shrugged, always willing to believe the best of people. "Maybe they really have learned how not to fight." Angeal snorted. Zack rubbed his cheek on Angeal's shoulder. "Come on, 'geal, you sure it's all that sneaky? Or are you just jealous that they left you out?"

Angeal froze. "I suppose it's possible there's a little of that." He sighed and slouched a little. "They're the closest friends I've ever had and I feel like I haven't seen them in months."

"You haven't," Zack put in. "I mean, not like you used to, you know, before me."

Angeal turned. Zack was staring down at his shoes. "Hey." Angeal cupped the boy's chin and turned his head up. "Hey, don't you go thinking this is on you. If they've found other ways to occupy themselves it's my fault for neglecting them in the first place."

Zack swallowed. His voice was faint when he spoke. "What if when you go back, they don't want me?"

Angeal swept him up in a big bear hug. "No, puppy, it won't be like that."

"But-"

"No 'buts'." He set Zack down to cup the boy's face in both hands. "If for some incomprehensible, utterly illogical reason they really don't want to add somebody as wonderful as you to the things we do together, then they can keep doing whatever it is they've been doing without the two of us."

Zack collapsed against Angeal's chest, soaking in the comfort of the hug and affirmation both. Angeal held him close for a long time.

"Angeal?" Zack said after a while, voice muffled in Angeal's shirt.

"Yes, pup?"

"You still want to know what they're up to, don't you?"


	7. Surveillance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Surveillance**

"Sephiroth?" Angeal hollered as he kicked the door. "I know you're in there. Genesis too. Let me in!" There was in indefinite rustle from inside the apartment. "Come on, you two," Angeal coaxed. "I brought dinner."

Someone shuffled to the door. "What is it?" Genesis's voice.

"Fried chicken. You two going to let me in or what?" Angeal leaned his forehead against the door, tuning into the muffled argument behind it.

"Are we going to?" - That was Genesis.

"... outside first." - Sephiroth.

"I suppose. Easy…." - Genesis.

Angeal straightened up just in time feign innocence when Genesis opened the door. He held up two hefty storage containers. "Fried chicken, like I said, and some corn on the cob in the bottom one."

Genesis stepped aside, ducking into the shadow of the door. His head was down and his lips looked suspiciously pink but Angeal did not let on that he had noticed. He entered, registering the dim lighting and the eerie quiet. He set the chicken down on the table and took a look around.

"Is this what you two do on a Friday night now?"

Sephiroth turned away from the window. "Do?"

"I assume you're not just standing around all night. Will somebody get the lights?" Angeal shook his head at the two of them. "What are you doing holed up in here?"

"Hmm, uh, I was going over some paperwork," Sephiroth volunteered, gesturing to the fallen stack of requisition forms near his overstuffed armchair.

"In the dark?" Angeal tried not to scold. "At least turn on the TV or something. You two are acting like ghosts."

"Are we?" Genesis hit the light switch almost as an afterthought.

Angeal crossed his arms and stared at his friend. "Are you chewing your lip again, Gen?"

"Ah..."

"Never mind. Go get some plates. You can chew on chicken instead. Or corn if that suits you better."

Genesis stepped into the kitchen without a word of protest. Angeal wasn't sure what to make of it. Sephiroth's reticence he could understand, but Genesis should have at least thrown him some quotation about the Goddess smiting the enemies of her chosen or some such thing by now. "Are you two feeling alright?"

"We're not unwell," Sephiroth said.

"Really?" Angeal popped a lid off and let the smell of hot chicken permeate the air. "Then stop standing over there like a robot and come get some chicken." Sephiroth mechanically obeyed. Genesis joined them with a stack of napkins and a surprising lack of conversation. He and Sephiroth sat side by side and nibbled daintily.

"Okay, what's up?" Angeal set his half-eaten chicken leg down.

"Nothing's up, Angeal," Genesis offered, sounding tired.

"Are you sure? Because Sephiroth I can understand but since when have you started imitating a rock? I haven't seen you this quiet since the time Seph gave you a fat lip for calling him a pretty girl when you first met."

Sephiroth did smirk at that. Genesis made a disgruntled sound and leaned away. "There is a time for all things, and hours when silence rightly reigns," he said, setting his chicken down.

"Is that so?" Angeal crossed his arms. "Is that why you're also home on a Friday night when you have no mission tomorrow?"

Genesis frowned. "I felt like keeping Sephiroth company. That's not so strange, is it?"

"It is for you two. Since when have you been able to 'keep each other company' without it involving complaints from the neighbors?"

"Since when have you been so hypercritical?" Genesis snapped back. "We were fine here, minding our own business and then you come down here with your chicken and complaining. What's all that about?"

Sephiroth set his chicken down almost mournfully. "I thought you'd be happy we're getting along better, Angeal."

"Shit." Angeal buried his face in his hands. His shoulders heaved as he breathed deep. "You're right. It's not that I'm not happy for you two. I'm just..." He looked up at them both.

Sephiroth caught on first, surprisingly. "Where's the puppy?"

"On assignment." Angeal sighed. "One of those 'One SOLDIER with Army support' deals." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I know Zack is good and that he has to learn to handle things without my hovering, but I just... I worry, you know." He looked up and found more understanding in his friends' eyes than he had expected. Genesis moved to sit by him.

"It's okay, Angeal." He offered a hug and a shoulder to lean on.

The three sat in silence for a while, letting the chicken go cold. Finally Angeal stirred. "Well, no point moping and worrying the whole night away. What do you two do on nights like this?"

Sephiroth and Genesis shared a glance. It was quick, but Angeal didn't miss it. "We... play cards," Sephiroth said carefully, and Genesis jumped up with too much eagerness to get the deck.

"Yeah, that'll keep my mind off things," Angeal agreed. He badly needed the distraction tonight, enough that he was willing to pretend – for the moment – that his best friends were not keeping secrets.


	8. Hazard Pay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Hazard Pay**

As it turned out, sneaking fried chicken to a lover on a window ledge did _not_ make up for stranding him out there in the first place. No, true recompense would prove much more elaborate. There may have been a few half-hearted attempts at haggling and one ill-fated try at waiting out the rage (doomed from the start by the inevitable involvement of celibacy). Eventually, the offending party had to come to terms.

It wasn't easy.

The first and most obvious hurdle was that it would have to be kept under wraps.

"You want to take the Wutai assignment?" Lazard asked. "Generals, I understand your wish to ensure our operations there run smoothly but you're hardly required to be present for all of them."

"But we need to go to Wutai," Genesis insisted, as if it were obvious.

"Do you? Both of you?" Lazard countered.

There was an awkward silence. "We really want to go to Wutai," Sephiroth said. He resolutely kept from looking at Genesis, but Lazard saw the flicker of fingers longing to reach for the other man's hand.

Lazard adjusted his glasses. "You need to go to Wutai," he said flatly.

"Yes, Sir," his SOLDIERs replied.

"Both of you, together."

Sephiroth cleared his throat. "Preferably, Sir."

Lazard stared at them for a while. "Fine, I'll sign off on it, but if you cause any more trouble than usual, it'll be on your heads."

"We'll keep a low profile," Genesis swore, though coming from him it was small reassurance.

Lazard watched them go, holding in the urge to sigh until the door slid shut behind them. "What is with those two lately?" he wondered.

Kunsel poked his head out from under the desk, licking his lips clean. "If you want I could plant a bug and find out."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In Wutai there was the obvious problem of access. SOLDIERs, particularly high ranking ones, could hypothetically go everywhere, but freedom to pass didn't mean you were welcome.

"I don't care if I am a Shinra Devil! That was just uncalled for!"

"It's not like we've never been bombarded with vegetables before, Gen."

"But they got wilted spinach in my hair!"

"It could be worse, Gen," Sephiroth offered a comforting pat on the shoulder. "They could have gotten wilted spinach in _my_ hair."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Population aside, a landscape so recently rearranged by war presented its own challenges.

"Are you sure this is the way?"

"That's what the map says."

Gen sniffed the air delicately and nearly gagged. "Smells about right, at any rate."

"Why are you complaining?" Sephiroth grumbled. "I thought you grew up on a farm."

"An orchard, Sephiroth, a clean, fragrant apple orchard. Good fresh air and the smell of cider, not all this-"

"Shit!"

"Exactly!" Genesis turned around to see why Sephiroth had stopped. "Oh, just scrape it off and quit making that face."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

One unforeseen setback was the fact that diplomacy was not quite the strong suit of either operative.

"You're charging WHAT?"

"This is the best of the best! Quality merchandise!"

"But these prices are outrageous!"

"Why are you arguing? There was a time this used to be reserved only for royalty. Foreigners like you should count yourselves lucky you even get to look at the goods."

"But this isn't what you quoted us on the phone!"

"You want to keep this from reaching the authorities? Silence has its price, baka gaijin."

"... Why you little-!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Perhaps surprisingly, the Generals left the farm without major incident, much lighter in wallet and not entirely convinced of the old adage about good things and small packages.

"This is ludicrous."

"Well, we wouldn't have had to pay that much if you hadn't tried to set the man's pants on fire!"

"He would have deserved it!"

"And we would have started the war all over again."

"Good. After shelling out all that we need the work."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Any competent military officer knows that adverse circumstance can strike at any time. Even if the objective is achieved, the mission is not over until the troops' feet are back on home soil.

"No, tomorrow is not good, SOLDIER. When I said we need immediate transport to Midgar I meant IMMEDIATE!" Genesis bellowed into the phone.

"We need more ice for the cooler!" Sephiroth shifted from one foot to the other.

Genesis glowered at the receiver for a moment. "Do you realize who you're talking to? This is General Rhapsodos. General Sephiroth and I will be at the helicopter pad in two hours and I don't care if you have to tie a hammock to a flock of eagles, you WILL have air transport ready for us! Is that clear?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The ride home was proved far from calming. Stuck in the belly of cargo transport, there was little to do but cool their heels and come to terms.

"Damn, sex is expensive. If I didn't like the kid so much I'd just hire a whore."

"So there really is no getting it for free. I suppose on some level we had it coming." Sephiroth crossed his arms and stared out the window. "Must have been cold out there."

Genesis sighed. "And I don't suppose the handcuffs helped."

"It was such a waste of a night." Sephiroth sat himself down on a crate of leeks and looked almost mournful. "He was so cute dressed up like that."

"He was. And it'll be a long time before he lets us put a garter belt on him again. Darn Angeal."

They sighed in unintentional unison.

"So," Genesis said, "how are we dishing this up for him now?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Both SOLDIER operatives were more than adequately experienced with the various applications of fire. They had come quite a ways from their initial disastrous kitchen forays. However, considering that they were now faced with cooking the most expensive steak known to god or man, from the most pampered cattle on the face of the Planet, perhaps they can be forgiven for a temporary lack of initiative.

"What the fuck did you want me to do? Hire a chef to bring back with us?"

"I'm just saying maybe the cooking's best left to the experts."

"It's meat, Seph. Maybe it did cost an arm and a leg to get this thing over here, but at the end of the day, it's just meat. How hard can it be?"

"GenGen, I'm only saying that specialty food cooking is a delicate operation and we can't afford to bungle it. Besides, there's no way in hell I'm tramping all the way back there to haggle with that pantsless crook."

"Well, Cloud's going to be here tonight, genius, so what do you suggest? Turn on the Cooking channel?"

"... Why not?"

"Why no-... Oh. Well, why not? Where's the remote?"

For precious hours they sat with their eyes glued to the screen, watching a cheerful grey-haired woman insert a stick of butter into every recipe, a rather loud younger woman single-handedly keep the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil industry in business and a strangely intoxicating woman who was doing something with pasta*, though by that point neither of them were looking at the food.

"Eyes off the cleavage, Sephiroth!"

"What? I like breasts."

"That's just because your brain wants to make up for being formula-fed."

"I'm bi, Gen. Get over it. Besides, this isn't helping. We know how to make hoecakes if we should ever find ourselves a hoe but there's nothing about cooking Wutagyu cattle."

"Dammit."

"So now what do we do?"

"... There are recipes on the web, right?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few strokes of the keyboard, a few clicks of the mouse. Funny how it came down to something so simple in the end.

"Seph, I found it! It was on that 'Cooking with Mog'** show."

"Uh huh?"

"We just need to get the grill really hot and be quick about it."

"Uh-huh."

"Seph?"

"..."

"Seph, stop staring at that woman's chest already!"

Sephiroth groaned and stretched, then turned to the door, all alert. He switched the channel just as the door slid open. Cloud stood in the doorway, looking downcast.

"Cloud?" Genesis ventured.

Cloud looked up at them, trying to blink what he was seeing into a semblance of sense. "You're home?" he said eventually.

Sephiroth stood and moved to stand by Genesis. "Yes, Cloud. We got that steak you wanted. We're just about to cook it."

"You're home!" Cloud's face crumpled and he ran right at them, spreading his arms to hug them both the best he could.

The Generals shared a glance, reaching down to hold their small lover even before they understood what was happening. "We're home, Cloud," Genesis said, rubbing the boy's back. "Are you hungry?"

Cloud shook his head. "Where did you go?" he asked, muffling a small voice between broad chests. "I missed you."

Sephiroth pursed his lips, slightly confused. "We went to get that steak, Cloud. The one you asked for?"

Cloud looked up at them. Sephiroth felt something twinge inside him at the sight of the boy's damp lashes. "You got what?" Cloud asked, brow furrowed.

"The steak, little chickabo, from Wutai. 'Most expensive steak in the world', remember?"

Cloud pulled away, looking down shyly. "You didn't have to. I didn't think you'd really do it." He stepped out of the circle of their arms, unable to look them in the eye.

"Cloud?" Genesis moved, not a full step, just a shifting of weight from one foot to the next.

"I only said it because I was mad at you for the ledge thing."

"We know, Cloud."

"I guess I just wanted some space for a while." Cloud turned away, rubbing his arm. "I asked for something impossible so you'd leave me alone."

"Cloud," Genesis said, "we're sorry about the window ledge."

Sephiroth nodded. "It was unspeakably reckless."

"You really went to Wutai to get steak?" Tears were beginning to streak down Cloud's face. Genesis reached an arm out, aching to wipe them away.

"Yes, Cloud," Sephiroth answered. "We're so sorry."

Cloud's face crumpled entirely. "I came up here the other day and you weren't here. I thought you were so mad at me for being fussy that you'd left me for good."

Sephiroth and Genesis caught Cloud up and sandwiched him between them. "Oh, never," Genesis was saying. "We'd never leave you, Cloud."

"We only went for you, Cloud."

Cloud cried harder. "I didn't really want you to go! And now you've gone and blown all that money just because of me!"

"Pfft, don't you worry about that, Cloud. It's not like Seph has anything better to spend his money on."

Sephiroth grunted a little. "We did have to make it up to you anyhow, Cloud. That corset must have been really tight."

Cloud sniffled. "The boots did hurt like hell. They bruised my toenails. Wanna see?"

"Oh, poor baby!" Genesis scooped Cloud up and took him to the couch where both Generals proceeded to treat their contrite, red-nosed little boy toy to a potion and a proper foot rub.

"Now about that steak, Cloud," Sephiroth said.

"You guys actually bought it?"

Genesis scoffed. "It wasn't easy. Hey, don't you feel bad about it. It's here and it won't keep forever."

"Are you up for another kitchen adventure, Cloud?" Sephiroth kissed Cloud's toes and smiled at him.

Cloud shifted uneasily. "We got new fire extinguishers, right?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In the end, with a blistering skillet and a surprising minimum of scorch marks ("Only two on the ceiling this time! Way to go, Sephy!") the SOLDIERs put together a plate worthy of a prince. The richly marbled meat was cooked just slightly more than rare (it was their first time, after all) and the steamed vegetables had to be served roasted after getting caught in the initial blast, but the wine was good, the rolls were crusty and the ensemble was by far the most appetizing-looking thing they had ever put together themselves.

"Dinner is served," Genesis announced with a flourish. Sephiroth fluffed Cloud's pillows and helped him sit up. They set the tray on his lap but wouldn't hand him the cutlery.

"You guys, don't tease," Cloud whined.

"We're not teasing," Sephiroth said, slicing into the meat. "Say 'ah'."

Cloud groaned but did it anyway, rolling his eyes at both of them to let them know they were taking it a bit far. Then the meat touched his tongue and took him away from the world.

The sound of his lovers calling his name brought him back to earth. "Cloud," Genesis asked, looming in. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Cloud blinked. "It's heaven." He took the steak knife from Sephiroth's fingers. "Your turn."

"Cloud, no, we got it for you." Sephiroth protested.

"So I'll do what I want with it. It's too good not to share, and it's huge too. Besides, y'all spoil me."

Genesis smirked. "Maybe we do."

They took it in turns, feeding one another, licking the juice off fingers now and then. It wasn't a large meal by SOLDIER standards, but it was satisfying all the same. At the end, tray discarded and wine bottle drained, all three lay snuggled together in the bed.

"You know," Sephiroth mused, staring up at the ceiling, "that was so good it almost makes me want to apologize to the butcher. Almost."

"It was heavenly," Genesis agreed. "That's as good as orgasm."

"Uh-huh." Cloud was half-asleep and too content for words.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth propped himself up on one elbow. "We do get real orgasm tomorrow night, right?"

"Hmm?" Cloud rolled over onto his stomach, one arm around each man's waist. "I'll think about it."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Did you manage to figure out what that whole thing was about?" Lazard asked, trailing the back of one gloved hand down a smooth cheek.

Kunsel shrugged. "Distance garbled most of it and the battery crapped out just before they got back. I only heard bits and pieces. I did pick up some chatter about 'buying the cow' and 'getting it for free'."

"Buying the cow?" Lazard frowned. "Buying the cow? Buying the- Oh, my goodness! Did they sneak off to get married?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sir."

"Well, how... how nice for them." Lazard sank into his chair, limp and forlorn. "I wish they had told me."

Kunsel rubbed Lazard's thigh lazily. "You'll get to catch a bouquet one day, Sir, I promise."

* * *

* Food Network Addiction, of course ;)  
** Cooking with Dog.


	9. Debriefing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Debriefing**

It took some time for things to get entirely smoothed out. Cloud was not in the mood to jump back into their usual games right away. Then there was the issue of monitoring the schedules more closely to know when Angeal would be alone and worrying and seeking company. It didn't help that it was just one more interruption in a relationship that already involved the finicky schedules of two high-powered Generals and a cadet's rigid training.

Of necessity, they began taking it in turns to keep Angeal from tearing his hair out while the other enjoyed Cloud's company for the night. Assuming he was available. On occasion, a surprise assignment would take any of them away, changing all their plans.

Finally the time came that all three of them could have an uninterrupted night together. Angeal had been pacing for days but his puppy was due back by evening to keep him out of their hair. Cloud, too, had had an assignment but discreet inquiry had affirmed the squad's safety and Cloud had promised to sneak up through his circuitous back route as soon as he got back. He would be in their arms by nightfall and Sephiroth and Genesis had everything ready to meet him.

But then Cloud stumbled in the door, cold and wet and numb. He blinked at them and turned away, retreating into a shell and closing himself away. Sephiroth dropped the handcuffs. Genesis put aside the knives. They were at the door faster than Cloud could back away, scooping him up and taking him to the couch. Cloud whimpered and squirmed in their grip.

"Cloud, baby, talk to us. Are you okay?" Genesis whispered in his ear, cooing soft words meant to soothe the boy's distress. Sephiroth, self-conscious and awkward, settled for stroking Cloud's hair. He would have to trust Genesis to handle this one. Cloud upset was nothing new, but that was usually anger, and usually at them. Sephiroth stared at the door, replaying Cloud's entry.

Cloud's face had been blank, his shuffle automatic. He had seemed as shy and reticent as he had been in the first weeks of their careful courtship. There had been a shift to his expression when he had spotted them, a waking of sorts, then the little furrow to his brow that Sephiroth had learned meant pain. Sephiroth's hand faltered, fingers still threaded in damp yellow.

Genesis had succeeded in quieting Cloud some. The boy lay stilled, half in Genesis's lap and limply submitting to the General's care. Genesis met Sephiroth's eyes over the top of Cloud's hair. They would not yet air long-held secret fears.

"Did it rain, Cloud, on the way home?" Genesis asked, a master of voice modulation. He used his most calming, soothing tones. "How about a hot bath?" Cloud nodded weakly and Sephiroth approved. They let him stand and led him to the master bathroom.

They had a tub there, easily large enough for all and then some. Genesis sent Sephiroth off to fill it with a tilt of his head and set about carefully undressing Cloud. "You're shivering, baby. Let's get this off." He reached for Cloud's shirt.

"I... I can do it," Cloud said, making a weak attempt to bat Genesis's hands away. Sephiroth left the running taps to lend a hand.

"Let us, Cloud." It was almost an order and Sephiroth instantly regretted it, but Cloud fell into line like a proper soldier, letting them unbutton and unbuckle at will.

They were careful and slow, Genesis keeping up a steady stream of poetic nothings as they peeled off layer after damp layer. They communicated in glances, in brushes of fingertips as they caressed Cloud's body. They were careful not to let him see the careful scrutiny.

There were no visible bruises, and as they stripped him more thoroughly, no evidence of injury of any sort. They both sighed in tentative relief.

Cloud was fragile, after all, by their reckoning, and too beautiful to go unnoticed for long. Despite Angeal's frenzied interruptions, they understood his concerns. They lifted Cloud easily into the tub. He hissed at the sudden heat of the water but soon settled in, looking a little calmer than before. He blinked up at them both with the wide-eyed innocence he was still capable of. "Aren't you coming in?"

Sephiroth and Genesis shared another glance. "I'll join you, chickabo," Genesis said, undoing the straps of his harness. "Come on, why don't you tell me about the mission. Miserable, was it?"

"Yeah..." Cloud sank up to his chin in the water. "How come you didn't put any bubble stuff in here?"

"Oh, he wants bubbles, now." Genesis rolled his eyes. "I've got your bubbles right here." He hit the switch at the side that turned on the jets. Cloud squawked as the stream hit him, then gave a shy giggle, turning red.

Satisfied that Genesis had things under control, Sephiroth made a quiet exit. He himself excelled at interrogation, but this required a gentler hand. He could only hope that there was nothing terrible at the root of Cloud's sudden skittishness.

Sephiroth took the opportunity to put the toys away. He did not suppose there would be much use for the jumbo bottle of lube, and if Cloud had been mistreated in any way, handcuffs and spreader bars were definitely not in the cards tonight. The low-temperature candles had almost guttered out, a waste of the specialty brand Genesis favored because they smelled like apple and cinnamon, but the man could fuss later if he wished.

When the place was tidy and looking decidedly less sordid, Sephiroth went to the bathroom again and stopped at the door. There was splashing inside, and Cloud was laughing lightly, if not sounding quite like himself. Satisfied that there was nothing terribly wrong at the moment, Sephiroth wandered away, unsure of what to do with himself.

He sat on the couch for a long while, ears trained on the bathroom door. He could not make the words out too clearly above the sound of splashing water, but at least Cloud was starting to sound more cheerful. Genesis was good at that kind of thing, handling the real finicky emotional details. Sephiroth usually just felt his throat clam up and then everything came out as a barked demand as his voice fought its way out. He sighed.

Cloud might be hungry afterwards, he reasoned, so he went off to the fridge. With a watchful eye, Sephiroth carefully reheated the poached salmon Cloud had developed a taste for despite himself. He fixed a plate, with vegetables and a small salad, certain that something was lacking in the presentation but unable to say what it was.

He took it to the bedroom and waited, tapping lightly on the door to keep the other two from letting themselves go all wrinkly in the tub. Genesis emerged soon enough with a towel-wrapped Cloud in his arms. A small nod and a cautious smile let Sephiroth know that there'd been no physical evidence of harm.

Genesis rolled Cloud out onto the bed. "Nap time, little chickabo." Cloud squawked again, playing his role, if not as heartily. He sat up, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Dinner first," Sephiroth said, hoisting the plate like a diner waitress. "Don't pretend they feed you properly on assignments. We know what it's like."

Cloud gave him a look that was shyer than any Sephiroth had seen from the boy recently. What had made him regress so? Sephiroth sat at the edge of the bed while Genesis flanked Cloud's other side. They set the bed tray on his lap, heedless of his nudity.

"Uh-uh," Genesis scolded, tapping Cloud's hand as he reached for the fork. Cloud sighed and settled in, familiar enough by now with their occasional need to baby him. Genesis fed him carefully while Sephiroth wielded the napkin. Genesis kept up the steady stream of light chatter, keeping Cloud entertained enough while the boy ate.

Cloud smiled now and then, but it did not brighten his eyes. He laughed, but it was subdued. Despite his love for the salmon, he did not finish it. Sephiroth took the leftovers to the kitchen while Genesis eased Cloud up to brush his teeth.

"He seems okay," Genesis said, sidling up near the kitchen sink. "I started a tickle fight to check him over and there are no marks on him."

"He could have been Cured," Sephiroth said, staring ahead at the backsplash.

"I'll use a Sense when he's asleep. It's not as good at detecting healed tissue as a medical exam, but it will have to do."

Sephiroth shook his hands off over the sink and reached for a towel. "Gen, if anyone touched him..."

"I know."

Cloud's voice sounded from the bedroom. "Genesis? Sephiroth?"

"We're coming, Cloud," Genesis called, "you just get comfy."

They walked in on Cloud as he was about to slide under the covers. He turned to them, looking regretful. "I feel awake now. I mean, I'm tired, but I don't know if I can sleep."

"We'll help you, baby," Genesis cooed, reaching into a drawer for the lube.

Cloud's face fell. "Um, Gen..."

Sephiroth stopped Genesis with a touch to the arm. "Not tonight, Cloud?"

Cloud ducked his head and shook it. Sephiroth felt Genesis's arm stiffen slightly. "It's okay, Cloud," Genesis said with a feigned lightness. "I have something else." He reached for his personal body lotion instead.

Cloud blushed a little and obediently lay on his stomach. It was hardly the first time Genesis had brought out his own personal stash for Cloud. Sephiroth would usually roll his eyes, leave them to their 'unnecessary fripperies' and go give his hair a good conditioner soak for the duration. This time he reached out his palm and let Genesis pour out a generous dollop.

The fresh scent of apples filled the room. There were underlying hints of honey and surprisingly, for Genesis, vanilla. Cloud couldn't pick them all out but he knew that he liked the overall effect. He sighed contentedly, tightening slightly as Sephiroth began to work on his back.

"Warm it in your hands first, Sephiroth," Genesis scolded. "It's cold, you know."

"Sorry, Cloud," Sephiroth whispered. Cloud made a soft sound and went limp on the pillows, appearing to sink deeper into the mattress.

Together, Sephiroth and Genesis massaged the lotion into Cloud's skin, rubbing him down in firm, even strokes. Genesis worked carefully on Cloud's neck and shoulders, making expert circles with his thumbs. Sephiroth, needing to see for himself, directed his attention to Cloud's rear and legs, going over the area slowly until he was sure that there was no overt sign of harm.

Cloud sighed happily again, murmuring as he drifted closer to sleep. Sephiroth and Genesis rolled him over gently to work on his other side, to stroke his arms, to rub the skin softening cream onto Cloud's hands. He was gaining the calluses of a fighting man. Sephiroth kissed the little fingertips lightly.

It took only a few moments, once they were sure Cloud was asleep. Genesis's face was screwed up in concentration, but eventually relaxed. "I can't find anything," he said, setting his materia bangle down. "Maybe this was just a difficult mission."

"The details will be probably be filed tomorrow," Sephiroth said. "We can know for sure."

"Reports won't tell us everything, Sephiroth."

"I know." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's cheek, still baby-soft and barely downed. "Can you find out what's bothering him?"

"You know I'll do my best, Seph." Genesis settled in next to Cloud, holding one of the boy's hands close to his own heart.

Sephiroth spent a long moment staring down at the little one before turning off the light.

Things were quiet around the apartment for a while. The Generals could find nothing suspicious in either the mission reports or Cloud's story of it. Genesis had not been able to root anything out though he admitted to harboring a suspicion that Cloud was hiding something. Sephiroth worried behind an impassive mask, forgoing Angeal's tendency to fret and pace, but chose to remain patient, trusting that the answer, if there was one, would come out in time.

Two weeks later, on a quiet afternoon, Cloud sneaked into the apartment to find Sephiroth there alone. Cloud searched around. "Where's Genesis?"

"Demonstration match," Sephiroth answered, practicing on an onion in an attempt to distinguish a slice from a chop as defined by the incredible four-eyed man on the screen. "He'll be back later."

"Oh." Cloud rubbed his arm and edged towards the kitchen to get himself a soda. He sat some distance away from Sephiroth, eyes moving between the cutting board and the screen to see how Sephiroth was measuring up. The General had it down pat, always did when a blade was involved. It was the application of heat that gave him trouble, though he was learning.

"You're getting better," Cloud said, smiling a little into his soda can. Sephiroth gave him a small smile in return, never pausing. Cloud was blinking more than usual. Sephiroth had never expressly said it, but he loved the way Cloud looked when he did that, revealing something of the wide-eyed innocent that would not be removed. But Cloud wouldn't stop blinking.

"Are you okay, Cloud?"

The boy swallowed. "That onion's really fresh."

"Oh." Sephiroth stopped. "I could go get a leek," he said, nodding at the screen. "He says they're like onions but milder."

"It's okay," Cloud said, sipping again. "What time is Genesis due back?"

Sephiroth held on to the disappointment, refused to let it show on his face. "Around six." It was only to be expected. Cloud undoubtedly enjoyed their relationship, but he came to Sephiroth for force and firmness in love play. It was Genesis who whispered sweet words and made gentle caresses. When it came to the tender things, Sephiroth always followed Genesis's lead. No surprise now, if Cloud wanted a little comfort, he would want one over the other if he couldn't have them both.

Still, Sephiroth would not leave his little Cloud distressed. "He'll be here soon enough, Cloud. Why don't you get comfortable?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Are you?" The words came out before Sephiroth had even thought them through. He turned to face Cloud, hoping against hope that he didn't have his Interrogation Face on, or that if he did, Cloud would be accustomed enough to it to not quiver.

Cloud swallowed. "I'm okay."

"Okay isn't good," Sephiroth said, trying to keep his voice softer than it wanted to be. "How are you really, Cloud?"

Cloud broke then. Twin tears trailed down his face. "Shit," he murmured, turning away to wipe his face. Sephiroth set his cutting board down and walked over to Cloud. There was no waiting for Genesis now. Sephiroth could only try his best.

"Cloud," he said, reaching out to touch the boy's hair, "What's wrong? Tell me?"

Cloud turned slowly and leaned against Sephiroth's thigh, seeking touch. Sephiroth stroked blond hair, letting his fingers trail down to Cloud's neck. "Cloud," he said, working hard to keep his voice steady, "you're not hurt, are you?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm okay."

Sephiroth swept low and scooped Cloud up, taking the boy over to the leather recliner in the corner and settling Cloud in his lap. "Tell me," Sephiroth tried not to order, "tell me what's wrong, Cloud."

Cloud swallowed visibly. "I love you."

It was Sephiroth's turn to blink. They all three rarely said it in as many words but he was certain it was understood. "Is that a problem, Cloud?" he asked, willing his tongue not to stumble. "I love you too. We both do."

"I know." Cloud drew away, sitting up, but Sephiroth would not let him off. "It's just... the last mission."

Sephiroth felt his chest tighten. He _knew_ something had gone wrong.

"I met somebody," Cloud said.

Sephiroth had to wait for that to sink in. "You... met... somebody."

Cloud nodded, though he turned his face away. "Another SOLDIER. Sephiroth, nothing happened, I swear, nothing happened, really, you have to believe me."

"I do, Cloud, I do." Sephiroth grabbed Cloud tight around the waist. "But if nothing happened, why is this bothering you?"

Cloud's voice when high, nearly cracking. "Because I really liked him. He was nice to me, and really funny and it was so exciting being around him." Cloud sniffled, fighting an onslaught of tears in earnest. "And during the mission he looked out for me like you and Genesis do here."

Sephiroth felt like he was lost at sea. Cloud liked another? _Liked_ another? What did that mean for them? "So, you want to be with him now?"

Cloud shuddered. "I don't know." He curled in on himself, all the distress he had been holding on to rushing out of his soul. "Before it was just, you know, a daydream. I thought I'd forget about him when I got back to you. But I keep thinking about him."

Sephiroth felt his heart drop like a stone. "Are you leaving us?"

"I don't want to." Cloud dried his eyes on his sleeve. "I'm happy with you and you do so much for me and I don't want you thinking I'm ungrateful."

"That has nothing to do with it, Cloud." This, Sephiroth understood, having had it hammered into him by Genesis and Angeal some years before. "We do what we do for you because we want to, not because we expect any kind of payment. If you're not happy here we wouldn't be either."

Cloud sighed, gathering himself. "I can't stop thinking about him, though, and I don't know why."

Sephiroth stroked Cloud's back. "Fantasizing is hardly a crime." Gaia, if Cloud only knew some of the things they were planning to do to him once he made SOLDIER and could withstand it all. If he was still theirs by then. "Tell me, is this SOLDIER handsome?"

Cloud choked on laughter. "Yeah, he looks pretty good."

"And he takes care of you."

"Well, yeah, but that was just on the mission. Not like he'd want to do it off the field."

Sephiroth scoffed. Who wouldn't want to take care of pretty little Cloud anywhere they could get him? Cloud was so young, just as he himself had been at one time, when Angeal and Genesis had taken it upon themselves to teach him about his own desire. "You still wonder what it would be like."

Cloud nodded. "It's stupid, I know, and it's so unfair when you two gave up so much for me."

"Gave up?" What the hell had they given up?

"You know," Cloud sniffled. "You two and the other General, Hewley, didn't you say you used to be together?"

"Angeal left us, chickabo, and even so, we told you it's probably not permanent in the long run. We gave up nothing."

"You could have had anybody."

"We didn't want anybody. We wanted you."

Cloud's face crumpled. "And here I am, obsessing over somebody else."

Sephiroth breathed deeply. The ache in his chest was already easing. "You haven't cheated, Cloud. You haven't betrayed us. You're young. It's natural to want to experiment." So Genesis had told Sephiroth a long time ago, anyway. He had said something else too. "Monogamy isn't for everyone."

Cloud coughed. "We're not monogamous."

Sephiroth shrugged. "Well, maybe you want to expand your circle a little."

Cloud sighed and leaned into Sephiroth's chest. "That's not fair. Not for you two."

Sephiroth scoffed openly. "How is it not? We're old and crusty and ready to settle down. We've had our fun." That won a chuckle from Cloud. "So, you want to pursue this young SOLDIER of yours?"

Cloud frowned. "I... I don't think I could. I mean, I like the idea of it, but I only just met him and I love you and besides, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to get him."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. Cloud knew plenty. Still, he was rather quiet before strangers and definitely more reserved outside of the bedroom. He was the type to be pursued rather than go hunting himself. Sephiroth nuzzled Cloud's wild spikes. "In any case, we can talk to Genesis about it and if you really want to sow some wild oats, I think it's only fair considering what we got up to ourselves. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with just daydreaming about it."

Cloud drew away, looking skeptical. "You really wouldn't mind me sleeping with somebody else?"

"Oh, we'll be watching him like a hawk. If he so much as breathes at you wrong he's done for."

Cloud smirked despite himself. "All the more reason to leave the poor guy alone."

Sephiroth rubbed Cloud's cheek. "Is it okay now, then? You haven't cheated and there's nothing to worry about."

Cloud swiveled on Sephiroth's lap and stared closely at him. "You really, really wouldn't have a problem with me... experimenting?"

Genesis had mentioned something about it once, how Cloud so eagerly drank up their attention, how deep-seated was his need to please, as if he feared their love would be taken away for the slightest infraction. It made him delightfully submissive in bed and it had taken months for his confidence to grow enough to make demands of his own. Still, like the core of innocence, that instinct to grasp at affection remained. Poor thing, to be so upset at the mere _idea_ of wanting something on his own. "No, Cloud, love, we'll be here when you need us. We love you."

Tears welled up in Cloud's eyes and Sephiroth wondered what he had said wrong. Then Cloud wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's neck and breathed heavily against the man. Sephiroth could only hold the boy's lean frame as it trembled. "I wish I could love you half as much."

Sephiroth had nothing to say. Instead he rocked with Cloud, a slow, steady swaying motion that experience had taught him would soothe his little bird. Cloud's teeth on his throat told Sephiroth the boy had other ideas.

Genesis came in from his fight to find them moving skin to skin in a sensual dance on the chair. He pulled his gloves off to trail fingers up Cloud's bare leg, to brush Cloud's cheek, to trace Cloud's parted lips with his fingers. Sephiroth blinked at him in heavy-lidded approval. Genesis smiled.

"Welcome back, Cloud."


	10. Strategy

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so!" Genesis tore at the buckle on his harness and turned his back away.

Sephiroth stared at the man and frowned. He tilted his head to one side then the other, trying to figure it out. "Where is this coming from, Genesis? You never minded before."

Genesis snorted quietly. "Things were different before."

Sephiroth sat down to work on his boots. "How so?"

"They just were, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth was not impressed. "That is supremely childish reasoning, Genesis. It's nowhere near good enough and you know it." He began the delicate operation of pulling his gloves off. These were his very best pair, made of buttery soft leather that glided over skin, the pair he reserved for special occasions. He busied himself with treating them tenderly while he waited to Genesis to explode.

Never one to disappoint, Genesis slammed down the lid of his foot locker, kicked the thing once (halfheartedly, or he would have destroyed it), then stalked over to the window for some air.

Sephiroth gave him a minute before speaking again. "What's so different, Genesis? I'm afraid I don't see. There is a younger, less experienced partner who wants to explore a side of himself you can't help him with. How is it so different?"

Genesis looked askance at Sephiroth. "Is that why you're okay with it? Because you think it's just like it was with you?"

"Isn't it?" Sephiroth labored to keep his voice even. Part of him almost wanted to laugh.

"No, Sephiroth," Genesis snapped. "It isn't."

Sephiroth took a deep breath. "Is it because he's not a SOLDIER?" Genesis curled up in the window seat and stared out at the smog below. Sephiroth went back to undoing buckles. "He can defend himself, Genesis. We wrestle with him all the time."

"But we're not trying to hurt him," Genesis said, toes starting to tap a nervous rhythm. "If it's another SOLDIER he wants, even a Third, and this SOLDIER decides to take undue advantage, what chance does he have?"

"You were planning to leave them alone together?" Sephiroth pulled hard and got one thigh boot off.

Genesis's head turned. Sephiroth could not read the expression on his face. "You were planning on spying on them?"

"Of course." Sephiroth bent to the other boot. The silence made him rise again. "Is that not okay?"

Genesis appeared to think it over. "The idea has some merit. It's borderline sick, but for safety reasons if nothing else, it has merit."

"So is that all?"

Genesis's frown returned. "Hardly."

Sephiroth worked his other boot off, shaking his head. "Then explain it to me, please, Gen. I don't get it. How is this any different from before?"

Genesis's lips pursed. He shook his head as he tried to find the words, for once at a loss. "I wouldn't mind so much if it was some girl, but what does he need another SOLDIER for? He's got two already!"

Sephiroth chuckled. "Well, there is that." It had been something of an issue for them a long time ago that Sephiroth's long-dormant libido, when finally awakened, had come out swinging every which way there was to swing, determined to hit everything in its path. Angeal and Genesis had attempted to offer guidance and eventually resorted to looking the other way while Sephiroth amused himself as he pleased. "You know, he's probably bisexual too," Sephiroth added. "There is that girl back in his hometown that he's mentioned."

"The boy's just young and confused. It's common at that age," Genesis scoffed with a pointed glance at Sephiroth. "Of course, some poor sods end up twisted for life." Sephiroth smirked at him. Genesis smirked back and then went boneless in his seat with a heavy sigh, head rolling back against the wall. "Why another SOLDIER, Seph? Aren't we enough?"

Sephiroth's hands dropped from his belts. "Maybe we're too much."

"What?"

Sephiroth shrugged, hiding his face behind his hair. "We do play rough with him. We have practically from the start."

Genesis snorted. "If he wants vanilla all he has to do is ask!"

"I don't think that's all there is." Sephiroth carefully stowed his leathers and began a thorough inspection of his blades. They needed a thorough cleaning before being put away. "This SOLDIER is... younger. Closer to his age. It's different footing for him."

"Why does he need different all of a sudden now?"

Sephiroth stood, and bare feet padding on the thick carpet, walked over. He put his hand on Genesis's shoulder in a gesture Angeal had taught him. "Gen, it will be okay. It's just an experiment, like we all had now and then. He'll come back when the novelty wears off."

Genesis crossed his arms and looked away again. "Angeal didn't."

Sephiroth's hand slipped. "Gen?"

"He's gone, Sephiroth. Left us for his young pup and not coming back."

Sephiroth swallowed, knowing only that the issue had drifted into deeper waters than he could handle. "There's still time," he said, feeling the telltale signs of his throat closing up and his voice want to come bellowing out in protest.

Genesis shook his head wildly, almost hunching in on himself. "He's not coming back," he said again, voice higher than usual and not as steady. He stared down at his fingers, steady as stone but blurring before his eyes.

"Gen." Sephiroth's voice was hoarse. He tried to place his arm around Genesis more firmly, to offer what support he could.

"I tried, you know," Genesis was saying, still staring at his hands. "The last time I had to keep him busy. Told him if he wanted to know what we were up to that he was welcome to come and watch. He didn't even notice." Genesis sighed heavily. He blinked at the wetness that had the nerve to cling to his eyelashes.

"We're still here. I am," Sephiroth offered, rubbing his partner's back.

Genesis stared at a spot on the wall, eventually reaching up to catch Sephiroth's hand. "He was my first, you know," he said with a wry smirk. "We were each other's." Sephiroth frowned, trying to reconcile the admission. "Oh, Angeal doesn't know," Genesis chided. "I never told him. He thought I'd come back from summer camp that year all corrupted and worldly." Sephiroth enfolded the man in his arms. Tears would not fall but Genesis sounded shaky. "It happened in the orchard."

Genesis leaned into Sephiroth with a muffled cry and let himself be comforted. Sephiroth stroked the short red hair, noting not for the first time how easy it was to muss. Genesis got himself under control fairly quickly, but he stayed where he was. Sephiroth began to sway with him the way he sometimes did with Cloud, and Genesis was content to move with him, eyes drifting closed, lips slightly apart.

Sephiroth wasn't sure he really understood the emphasis some people put on first times. His own had been nothing special, the other party involved even less so. But technically speaking, he, not Genesis, had been Cloud's first, and yet it was Sephiroth who was willing to let Cloud run off and experiment at will.

"I don't think he'll leave us, Gen. It's not in him."

Genesis sniffed. "We never thought Angeal would leave either and now look at him. Chasing his puppy's tail."

"Cloud's still not Angeal, Gen," Sephiroth tried in vain to smooth Genesis's hair. "He's given us fair warning. Angeal... Angeal left us to figure it out on our own."

Genesis nodded, bending his head to hide his face. "Bastard," he choked out.

"A little bit, maybe." Sephiroth set his chin on Genesis's head. He felt a small spot of wetness on his chest, where Genesis's face lay, but said nothing about it.

"He's so happy though," Genesis said, sounding steady, but listless. "Can't even stay mad at him."

Sephiroth chose to say nothing. He had no idea what to say. Genesis leaned against him till the pattern of light coming through the window shifted to cast them in shade. Then the man steeled himself, straightening up and letting his long legs hit the floor again. Sephiroth stepped back to give him some room.

"Shower?"

"Shower."

They made quick work of it, scrubbing down with no conversation but necessary requests to pass the soap and towels. They entered the bedroom and shut the door carefully behind them.

Cloud lay in the center of the bed where they had left him after undoing the bindings and making sure that he had proper circulation in his extremities. The covers were tucked in at his waist. The marks were still bright on his wrists but he had asked to keep them till morning. He had curled up on his side somewhat, conserving warmth while waiting for his preferred pillow and blanket to arrive.

Genesis slid in behind the boy, curling himself around Cloud's slender form. Sephiroth watched the pair for a moment before getting in on the other side. He reached up to the wall behind the bed, flipped the light switch and began to settle in for the night. He saw Genesis stroking Cloud's arm and attempting to smooth the unruly hair.

"Cloud?" Genesis whispered.

"Gen," Sephiroth protested, "he's asleep."

"Mmm, 'm not," Cloud mumbled.

Genesis smirked at Sephiroth over the boy's shoulder. "Cloud," he said, "Love you, Cloud."

"Mmmhmm, I know." Cloud shifted a little, seeking Genesis. He pursed his lips for a kiss but gave in to sleepiness halfway through the search and settled for a smooch sound instead.

Genesis smiled in the dark. "Cloud, I just want you to know, if this other SOLDIER is what you need to be happy, go ahead."

"Mmm." Cloud didn't say anything more for the night.

Genesis wrapped himself tight around Cloud. Sephiroth lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He tracked the sound of Genesis's uneven breathing for a long time.


	11. Reconnaissance

"... so, I guess I'm saying, if this isn't too awkward for you or anything, if you wanted to go out sometime, I'd like that." The kid looked so pink-cheeked and hopeful. And cute. Unbelievably, unbearably cute. Shiva, it was going to be so hard to turn him down.

"Um, I'm flattered, Cloud, I really am." It was the truth. The kid was one cute package, with a pretty face and lovely eyes and a butt that filled his uniform out just right. Oh, come on, a guy would have to be blind not to notice! "It's just that... uh..." Okay, easiest way out: Tell him you're straight.

Except that would be a lie and not fair to the kid, because he was bound to hear the buzz sooner or later and then he would know he had been lied to.

"Um, you see..." Crap. Cloud's eyes were shifting. He was starting to get the picture and it wasn't going over so smoothly. "It's not that I don't like you, Cloud, I just... I have somebody."

Cloud blinked. "Oh." He smiled a little the way he sometimes did. A little more nervous-looking this time, but he also seemed relieved. Good. Perfect. Momma was right, there really was nothing like the truth. This way it wasn't an outright rejection. Cloud could go off without feeling that there was something wrong with him. Kid was reddening up something good though.

"So, is it serious?"

Damn. Was the kid more hot to trot than he looked? Always the quiet ones, wasn't it? "Yeah, it's pretty... intense." Don't scare him with the details, don't scare him with the details.

"Been going on a while?" Now there was a smirk nobody else had probably ever seen Cloud wear before.

"Yeah. A really good while. I don't want to brag or anything, you know, but he's the one."

That was better. The smirk turned into a real smile now. Sweet goddess, the boy had a mouth that would work just right with a bit and bridle. "He's good to you, then? That's great." Cloud was ducking his head back into his scarf. "Because you deserve that."

Gaia, talk about shit fit to break your heart. Didn't everyone deserve somebody like that? Didn't Cloud? Poor kid, he was so young and still on the small side. Didn't he deserve somebody to take care of him? And wouldn't that somebody be one lucky son of a gun too, to have somebody all cute and earnest and fierce inside like Cloud?

"Hey, chin up, Cloud, you'll find somebody! With an ass like that you could get yourself a partner in no time!" Damn, the kid's hair was like silk, and the squawk he made when people ruffled it was so cute!

Cloud was smiling as he batted the hands out of his hair. "Yeah, maybe." It was like he was trying to hold back a gigglefit. "So, can we maybe forget this whole thing?"

"Sure, don't worry about it. You'll always be my little chocobo buddy."

"Hey, quit it with the hair! Hands off! Yours is way worse anyway!"

"Is not!"

Whoa. Now that was an 'Oh, really' look if there ever was one.

"I gotta go. Maybe we'll get another mission together sometime."

"Sure we will! I just know it! See you then, Chocobo."

"Pfft, back at you, featherhead."

Yeah... Cloud was definitely a cutie, and a firecracker under the fluff and prettiness. He'd have somebody to take care of him in no time and that somebody would have their hands full. He did have a way of making a body wonder what it would be like to be responsible for him, to have to somebody to care for instead of being the one getting the care. Too bad a guy couldn't have it both ways.

Could he?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So much for that." Cloud sighed and bent down to get his boots off.

"Is that you, Cloud?" Genesis emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron (and, unfortunately, everything else under it) and wielding a sticky wooden spoon. "Would you like some honey apples? I managed not to singe this batch."

"Did you turn the heat down before you came out here?"

Genesis's face fell. He spun on one heel and fled back into the kitchen. Cloud snickered and pulled off his socks. "It's okay!" Genesis called. "Got it just in time. Just let me get some bowls. Do you want ice cream with yours?"

"It's okay, Gen," Cloud hollered back, heading towards the big, spacious living room and the big comfy couch to watch some big, high-definition tv. He flopped belly-first onto the couch and let himself droop.

"Cloud?" Genesis came out of the kitchen with a bowl in each hand. He flew over and set the bowls down to check Cloud's temperature. "Cloud, are you sick?"

"No, just tired."

"Long day patrolling?" Genesis buried a hand in Cloud's hair.

"Not really."

"Lots of drills?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong, chickabo. You can't tell me you're not feeling down."

Cloud looked up at him past a fringe of wild hair. "I talked to him today. The other SOLDIER."

Genesis's hand paused a moment, but he quickly resumed his stroking. "Did it not go well?"

"He's taken." Cloud sighed. "I'm glad I got that over with anyway."

"_Taken_ taken, or just occupied?" Genesis asked, eying the vanilla ice cream that was melting on beds of hot, honeyed apples.

"It's serious." Cloud rolled over and put an arm over his eyes. "It's no surprise, thinking about it. He's too hot to stay single long, if he doesn't want to be. It was still kind of embarrassing though, you know, asking him out."

"Asking someone out is embarrassing?"

"I've never done it before."

"Oh." Genesis swooped in and planted a kiss on Cloud's brow. "First time for everything. At least it's out of the way now."

"Yeah."

Genesis picked one of the bowls up and handed it to Cloud. "Here you go. Eat this." He took up his own bowl and settled back cross-legged on one end of the couch. "Now, tell me about this hot young SOLDIER boy of yours."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Angeal? Angeal!" Zack chucked his responsibilities at the door and pounced on the bed. "Hey, ANGEAL!"

Angeal sprang up, swatting out half-blind from sleep. "Dammit, Zack, let a man nap a minute, will you?"

"Oh, okay." Zack sat back on his heels and waited.

Angeal sighed. "What's the story?"

"I was just wondering, what's it like taking care of me like you do? You know, like your puppy?"

Angeal pondered it over. "Well, you do tug on the leash a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way." He reached out to ruffle his student's hair. "Pup's got to become a big, fighting dog sometime, right?" The boy wriggled under the pet in a way that was almost like wagging. "What brought this on, pup?"

"I was just wondering what it was like to be on the other side."

"What, you found a puppy of your own?"

Zack scratched his head. "Ah, not really."

Angeal smiled at him and reached over to rub the boy's head. "Come on, you can tell me. Did you spot some fine young thing and feel the urge to chain him up and make him your own?"

Zack blew a raspberry. "Not the chaining up part, but... hey, is that what you felt with me?"

"I confess nothing. So, you found somebody?"

"No, I didn't, he found me. I mean, he asked me out."

"... What?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "I said no, Ange."

"Oh." Angeal wasn't sure if to be pleased at that, or mad at his own surge of jealousy. "But you were curious."

"Well, yeah, I mean, it's this guy I kinda know from some of my mission lineups. He's smaller and he's just so goshdarned cute!" Zack grinned to himself, grabbing a pillow to hug half to death. "I have a hard time already trying not to pick him up and hug him to pieces when we're out on assignment sometimes. He's just adorable! Like a little baby chocobo! So, yeah, I kinda did wonder what it would be like to be the one keeping him."

Angeal leaned back, shaking his head. "If you want to take care of a chocobo that badly I can get you a shift or two of stable duty."

"Angeal!" Zack protested. "I am NOT shoveling poop. Besides, cadets are potty trained."

"A cadet, Zack?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Angeal's eyebrows arched. "Some of them are pretty young."

Zack rolled over onto his back, indulging in his honorary puppyhood in a way he did only in private, and only ever with Angeal. "They're not that much younger than me, Angeal," he said, with a coy gaze upwards. "In fact, it would be a more 'age-appropriate match' if anything."

Angeal crossed his arms and frowned. "Are you calling me a dirty old man, Zack?"

"Hey, I said nothing." Zack held his hands up in mock-defense. "You drew your conclusions all on your own." He let his wrists drop and stretched his neck out to wriggle on the bed in a very doggy gesture. "Not my fault you feel like a pervert."

"Puppy," Angeal warned. Zack yipped, nipped and got the bellyrub he'd been hoping for.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Genesis? Are you home?" Sephiroth took stock of the boots by the doorway. He directed his attention to the bedroom. There were voices, rather boisterous and almost giggly. "Do you have Cloud in there with you?" He let out a heavy breath and began to unbuckle his boots.

"I just had a strange meeting with Lazard," he continued, trusting the others to come out when they heard him. "Something about insurance beneficiaries and tax deductibles. Then for some reason he got sidetracked on adoption policy and I can't for the life of me figure out why. He said it might have been going too far ahead but of what, I don't know. And he gave me a gift certificate for some place called 'Spa and Skin Works'. He said he was sorry it was late." Sephiroth pulled his boots off and stood silently.

"Gen, do you think he was making a pass at me?" He hurried through the apartment in sudden need of a second opinion. "Gen, what do you think? You know I'm not good at spotting it when people don't come right out and say. Was he making a pass?"

He swung the door open just in time to see Cloud run by squealing with laughter. Genesis pounced after him, stripped of his red coat and looking almost like any other SOLDIER. Especially with the black wig on.

"The little chocobo better watch his tail," he was saying, "because the Devil Dog wants a piece of it!" He leaped and tackled Cloud to the ground in a wriggling heap of tickles.

Sephiroth quietly shut the door and went to get a sandwich.


	12. Marching Off To War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Marching Off To War**

"Zack." Angeal straightened himself and looked the boy over, coming to a decision with a thoughtful nod. "I think it's time."

Zack swallowed. "Really? I'm ready now?" He licked his lips and tried to pretend that his toes weren't tingling.

Angeal looked the boy over, coming to a decision with a decisive nod. "You're ready. Go clean up and get dressed and make sure you look neat."

Zack's eyes widened. "We're going now?"

"No time like the present, pup." Angeal smirked. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

Zack swallowed again. "I- I'm okay." He had honestly begun to suspect the day would never come.

Angeal studied him. "Pup, if you're not ready or interested, we don't have to do this. It's not for everyone."

"But... you-"

"I'll be fine, puppy." Angeal sat down and tugged on Zack's collar to tilt his head up. "It's you we need to think about."

Zack leaned in and nuzzled his mentor's knee, taking a moment to rest his head there and think. The change had been part of the plan from the start and it was unfair to back out now. But he'd grown comfortable with things as they were. He wasn't afraid exactly, but if the new arrangement didn't work out, things would never be the same again and that would be a shame for everybody involved.

He sighed.

"It's okay, pup." Angeal ruffled his hair. "They'll love you."

"You think so?" Zack looked up.

Angeal smiled. "How could they not?" Zack smiled back. Even if they didn't, Angeal loved him. Angeal would always love him. That would be enough.

"I'm ready."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hoist him higher," Genesis instructed. "I don't want him able to rest his weight down."

Sephiroth obliged, turning the pulley at hair's breadths increments till Cloud's only contact with the floor was the slight brush one toe made as he swung. Just enough to tease him. Not enough to get control of his own motion. Sephiroth checked the chains again before locking everything into place.

They had triple checked every piece of equipment in play tonight, the chains, the harness, the hooks in the ceiling from which their precious bundle was suspended. They had bound his arms fingertip to elbow behind his back in a Wutai style. It was Genesis who had suggested the maddening arrangement of Cloud's legs, linked by shortened chains to the cuffs on his body so that only one foot was within reach of the floor, and that only momentarily while the boy's writhing sent him swinging.

He was blindfolded, the leather around his eyes contoured and reinforced. His jaw tensed as he tried to gnaw at the gag. His neck was not showing signs of strain yet, but the chains had been pulled to force his back into a beautiful, gentle arch, leaving his torso bare to Genesis's undivided attention.

He was beautiful like that, bared under the lights. Their play had been gentle leading up to this so there were no old tracks on him. The mountain-bred paleness of his skin glowed nearly white in the lights. The chains clinked from his shivering in a way almost like light music.

Genesis pulled out a dark blue silk ribbon and trailed it down the boy's face. Cloud inhaled sharply Genesis shushed him. He let the length of ribbon glide down Cloud's body. It was easy to see how well the color suited the boy when he was hung up for display like this. The boy was attractive, perfectly beautiful even if his limbs were more gangly that was strictly becoming. His growth was beginning to come in.

Genesis used the ends of the silk to tease Cloud's stiffening cock to fullness. He shared a wicked smirk with Sephiroth and proceeded to tie the ribbon around it, adding a bow as a flourish. "Well, aren't you a precious little gift, dear." Cloud whimpered.

They had brought out all the toys tonight, with every intention of using as many as they could. They would drive Cloud to the brink of insanity with what they drew on his skin. Genesis smirked at Sephiroth and thumbed the small remote. Cloud made a strangled sound and jerked in his bonds, fists tightening, clanging the chains as the plug inside of him whirred to life. Sephiroth sighed happily at the sound. He signaled his approval to Genesis with a long, utterly contented gaze. Genesis let it go on a half minute more, then turned the power down. Cloud moaned piteously.

"Is he cold?" Sephiroth asked, brushing his fingers down Cloud's chest.

Genesis eyed Cloud's nipples. "I doubt it, actually." But just in case, he brought out a weak fire materia and studied the toy selection. Certainly something here could warm Cloud up. Some of new additions were absolutely exquisite one-of-a-kind pieces, meant only for the very powerful. SOLDIER powerful. He would have to be so careful using any of them on Cloud for now, but Genesis liked to plan ahead.

They kept a full complement of healing materia equipped in a bangle nearby. And potions. And blankets and extra water and even a jumbo bottle of electrolyte-laden sports drink in Cloud's favorite flavor, because the last time they had tried to play this hard the stubborn kid had held on till he passed out. He had been absolutely forbidden from ever doing that again, but with Cloud one could never be sure. They would keep a careful eye on him.

Genesis selected a flogger from the chest, one made of many fine strands. He trailed it up from Cloud's ankle, causing the boy to squirm some more. This one would tickle and scratch and when he put it to proper use, it would sting delightfully. Genesis leaned in and held Cloud's chin. "I hope you're ready, Chickabo."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Tuck your shirt in, Zack."

"It's in," Zack insisted. "What next, straighten my tie?" They were both in uniform, swords and all because according to Angeal, spontaneous sparring was common among the three Generals. It was good to be prepared.

Angeal looked Zack over. He made an attempt to spit-tame Zack's spikes that the boy heartily resisted. "Quit it! That's gross! Why do mothers do that anyway?"

"I'm not your mother," Angeal mumbled, going after unruly bangs.

"Then stop acting like it." Zack ducked away and stuck his tongue out. "That makes this even more like some creepy pimp scenario than it already is."

Angeal straightened up and took a furtive look around. "Not in the hallway, pup. Wait till we're inside."

Zack made a sheepish bow and tried to make sure he was presentable while Angeal knocked on the door. They waited a while, Zack hopping from one foot to the next. Angeal knocked again.

"Maybe they're not at home," Zack suggested.

"No, they're in there. I can tell from the light under the door. They're in the bedroom."

Zack squinted at the floor. The gap underneath looked pitch black to him. "You can see that? Man, First Class is awesome!"

Angeal made an affirmative sound and dug around for the spare key card. "Hang on a second. We can let ourselves in."

"Uh, 'geal, you sure that's a good idea?" Zack was hopping again, almost ready for a full-on bounce. "I mean, if they're in the bedroom..."

Angeal chuckled and ruffled Zack's hair, undoing all of his previous work. "We don't have to join them right away. We can hang out in the living room." Zack looked unsure. "They have a big screen TV."

"Okay!"

Angeal flipped the switch for Zack's benefit once they were inside. He could see well enough himself without it and he knew the layout in any case. He followed the voices. "This way, Zack."

"Um, I think I should wait out here," Zack said. He could hear the sounds, true, and didn't think it wise to go barging in, but he had just spotted the entertainment center too. Hot damn, First Class rocked!

Angeal patted Zack on the shoulder. He could understand the boy not wanting a first meeting to be of that nature. In his own case, though, it could hardly be anything he hadn't seen before.

"Genesis?" he called. "Seph?" He nudged the door open and peered inside.

Shock made his slam the door the rest of the way. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

Sephiroth and Genesis froze in their leathers. The young blond thing they had trussed up between them jerked in the chains. His chest was heaving, his skin glowing with a sheen of sweat and the red blush of the lash. His neck was strained, his knuckles clenched to whiteness behind him. He was entirely bound, gagged and blindfolded. He was helpless, painfully young and thoroughly at the mercy of two beasts who would grant none.

Genesis relaxed first, the surprise sliding from his face to give way to deep, sensual satisfaction. "Angeal," he purred, playing it to the hilt. "It's been so long since you joined us. We've missed you."

"I missed you too," Angeal said in a flat voice, as he reached for his sword. "Too bad I have to kill you."


	13. Battlefield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work.

**The Mission**

**Battlefield**

Angeal came flying backwards into the living room. Genesis flew in after him, bare-chested, armed and snarling.

"It's all your fault anyway, Angeal," Genesis taunted, swinging out wildly.

"Don't you dare blame this on me!" Angeal roared. "Self-control, Rhapsodos! Grow up and get some!"

"Angeal?" Zack almost squeaked. He had taken shelter in a corner with a neat drop-and-roll at the very first clash of swords.

"The bedroom, Zack!" Angeal gritted his teeth and braced himself. "Cut him down!"

"Cut who down?" Zack's eyes widened as swords cut into the walls. Genesis growled and shoved, gaining precious inches of space as Angeal's feet slid backwards on the carpet.

"Just go!" Angeal shouted. "Get him out of here!"

Sephiroth exited the bedroom bearing the masamune and an unreadable expression. "Gen, just tell him."

"Oh, I'll tell him, alright!" Genesis growled back over his shoulder.

Zack recovered his wits and slid around the perimeter of the room, eyes on the danger with some obscure idea of helping. Not like he could do much in a battle of First Classes. At least Sephiroth did not seem inclined to join the fray. Zack backed his way down the hall and into the bedroom. When he turned his heart nearly gave out.

"Gaia," he croaked. He would know that blond head anywhere. "Cloud!"

Cloud squirmed in the chains, helping Zack to breathe again. The boy still had some fight in him. That was good. "I'm going to get you out of this, Cloud!" He scrambled over and circled around, trying to get an idea of where to start.

They had suspended Cloud in some kind of half-hogtie position. He was mute, blindfolded and as a final insult, someone had tied a ribbon around his dick. Zack quailed. He didn't know where to start. Angeal had told him to 'cut him down'. He would start there.

He grabbed hold of the chains and tried to yank them apart. "Shit!" SOLDIER strength. Had to be. Angeal used some like these too, sometimes. "Don't worry, Cloud, I'll get you out."

Cloud squirmed some more, making frantic sounds behind the gag. Zack picked the weakest point he could find – the ceiling itself. He got up on tiptoe and tugged. The hooks gave way in a cloud of plaster and Cloud hit the floor.

"MMPH!" A pair of rubber balls, one red, one yellow, rolled out of Cloud's hands.

"Oh, god, Cloud, I'm so sorry!" Zack was on his knees in a flash, untangling the chains. "Just hold still a minute." But Cloud wouldn't. Zack tried to get his hands around Cloud's thrashing head. "Just a second, Cloud, please, little chocobo, just hold on, I'll get you out of here." He got the buckle of the leather blindfold and ripped the thing off entirely. Wide blue eyes flashed at him and squinted shut just as quickly against the light. Zack's heart sank. "It'll be okay, Cloud, it'll be okay." He reached around to give the gag the same treatment.

Cloud spat the thing out and lay on the floor, nursing a slightly stiff jaw. He blinked carefully and tried to sit up. "I have to get out there."

"I'll get you out as soon as it's clear enough," Zack offered, wishing like hell he had a coat to cover the boy with. He studiously kept his eyes on Cloud's face, cursing himself for not doing something about the penis ribbon earlier.

"I gotta stop this!" Cloud squirmed, unable to rise with the chains still on.

"You can't go out there, Cloud," Zack tried to hold him back but it wasn't like the kid could go anywhere. Cloud rolled onto his side, grimacing. It couldn't be comfortable being tied up that way. "Just give me a second. I have to get you out of all this."

"Zack," Cloud began.

"I don't have any wire cutters with me and even then they might not be strong enough for this stuff." Zack glanced around. "Damn."

"Zack," Cloud tried again.

"I'm going to have to use my sword, Cloud. I promise I won't hurt you."

"Zack, the keys are in the top drawer in the nightstand on the right."

Zack blinked. "There's keys?"

"There's locks, Zack." Cloud grimaced more. "Hurry up, I'm cramping up down here and we have to get out there and stop a murder."

Zack went to the drawer and fished out a bunch of small, silvery keys. "You can't stop a First Class fight. I don't think you should." He bent down to handle the locks, eyes on his task. "Don't worry. The ones that did this to you are going to get what they deserve."

Cloud huffed. "Zack, I asked them to."

"... Huh?"

Cloud looked away, blushing slightly. "This is a consensual relationship," he parroted, prepared for the eventuality of being caught, if not by his crush.

"Huh?" Zack sat back on his heels, glancing around. Aside from the mess he had made there were no signs of struggle.

Cloud swallowed and gingerly sat up, rubbing his freed limbs. "We abide by careful negotiation and the rules of safe play."

Zack shook his head. "Safe play involves safe words, Cloud. You were gagged."

"We were using a rubber ball system!" Cloud looked around and spotted the balls he had been gripping before Zack pulled him down. "Over there. Yellow for 'slow', red for 'stop'." He ducked his head and tried to arrange his legs for decency. Genesis was distressingly good at tying bows.

Zack stared for a good minute, trying to reconcile one thing with the other. First Classes didn't cut corners, Zack knew that pretty well by now. But Cloud, little Cloud wanted this? Innocent apple-cheeked Cloud was a willing player? His little chocobohead buddy?

"How long has this been going on?" Outside, the battle raged but in here, there were only questions.

Cloud glanced away. "A while. A few months." He stretched over carefully to get a blanket from the pile. Zack stopped him and unfolded a large blue one to throw over Cloud himself.

"So, when you asked me out..."

"I was already involved with them, yes." Cloud forced himself to look in Zack's general direction, even if he couldn't look the SOLDIER in the eye yet.

"Did they know..."

"Yes. It was a long discussion." Cloud tried to shift into a more comfortable position under the blanket. "They said I could experiment."

"Huh." Zack wasn't sure how he felt about that. "So I guess maybe we should try to stop them all from killing one another then."

Cloud nodded, accepting a hand up and rising with difficulty. "Is Hewley yours? The one you're with?"

Zack nodded. "He's a great guy. Super protective streak though. He walked in on all this and, well, it's a whole new level of apeshit."

Cloud tried to hide a grin and collapsed to his knees, screaming. Zack dropped with him. "Cloud! CLOUD! What's wrong?"

"Ge- get it out!" Cloud cried, face scrunched in pain. "Plug."

"Plug where?" Zack looked around for electrical outlets.

"Inside," Cloud whimpered, writhing and curling on the floor. "Oh, gaia, get it out."

Zack paled. "Cloud, turn over. Come on, buddy, I need you to work with me on this." He reached under the blankets, feeling around. His fingers brushed the flared base of what must have been a fairly powerful vibrating butt plug, but Cloud squirmed away too quickly. "Hang on, Cloud, I need to get a good grip and turn it off."

"Remote," Cloud gasped. "Gen."

"Shit." Zack tore the blanket away to do the job properly. "Hang on, Cloud, we can do this."

"You owe me a couch!" Genesis yelled as Angeal hefted the Buster sword free from the corpse of the old one.

"The only thing I'm giving you is a castration!" Angeal charged, knocking Genesis into the stereo and flat on his ass. Sephiroth flew between them to stop Angeal from making the kill. "I'll deal with you later, Sephiroth," Angeal growled. "I know he can talk you into anything but that's no excuse for not using your own brain."

"Will you just listen?" Sephiroth said, eyebrow twitching. "It's not-"

"Oh, great going, 'geal!" Genesis dug the shattered remains of some small device out of his back pocket. "You just broke the remote for my brand new toy and I hadn't even finished testing it yet."

Angeal turned crimson. "I'm going to-"

A piercing shriek echoed into the room. "Cloud!" Sephiroth dropped his sword and ran down the hall. Genesis was close behind him, with Angeal chasing after.

"Cloud!" Sephiroth slammed the door open, eyes scanning the room.

Cloud was writhing on the floor and crying out in agony. Angeal's puppy was hovering over him, one hand braced on Cloud's hip, the other feeling up the boy's ass. "Hold on, Cloud, I almost got it!"

"Get off him!" Sephiroth swung out and batted the puppy away. "Cloud, look at me! What's wrong?"

Cloud reached towards the familiar voice, arms locking around Sephiroth's neck to steady himself. "Th- the... plug," he gasped, stimulated to the point of pain.

Sephiroth grabbed Cloud up and swung around, looking for Genesis. "Turn the thing off! It must have come on during the fight."

"I can't! That last toss shattered the remote, remember?"

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Angeal roared.

"Back off, Hewley," Genesis snapped.

Zack rose to his feet to touch Angeal's arm. "I think it's okay," he said quietly. Angeal blinked, chest still heaving. "It's okay," Zack repeated.

"We have to get it out of him," Sephiroth was saying. "I think the power went up all the way."

Genesis bit off a curse. They never used anything in the toy chest to full intensity on Cloud. That was for later. "Hold him still. We'll need lube." Sephiroth nodded and leaned back, pulling Cloud on top of him. Cloud's cries were tapering off to high pitched whimpers. His legs still trembled but he was simply losing the ability to hold out. He clung to Sephiroth and buried his wet face in the man's chest.

"Just a second, Cloud," Genesis whispered, pouring lubricant into the cleft of Cloud's ass to ease the way. He pulled off his gloves, flexed his fingers and tugged. Cloud gave a short scream and Sephiroth tightened his grip, kissing the boy's head and telling him to be brave. Genesis tugged again and this time the rotating bulbs of the triple-flared plug came free. Cloud made a groan of relief and went limp.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud snorted weakly. "Sore to the core. I'll live."

Behind him Genesis smashed the offending article onto the floor. "Can't do anything else with that now," he said, reaching for the nearby blanket to cover Cloud. Sephiroth rose carefully, carrying Cloud over to the bed. There they cradled Cloud between them, asking if he needed a potion or a Cure, smoothing his hair and rubbing his back, distinctly ignoring Angeal all the while.

"What is this?" Angeal asked, voice softened somewhat by the sight.

Genesis and Sephiroth shared a look. Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud. Genesis stiffened as he turned to their audience. "Well, Angeal, since you're done with the 'stab first' part, this is Cloud Strife and he is our lover."

"You're kidding me."

Genesis's eyes narrowed. "This is a consensual relationship. All parties came to it knowing and willing and we abide by careful negotiation and the rules of safe play." Cloud turned his head and caught Zack's eye, giving him a smirk.

"Cut the crap." Angeal stepped closer. "For this to be consensual he has to be able to consent."

" 'm older than I look," Cloud protested, snuggling closer to Sephiroth for support. "Old enough to enlist means I'm old enough for a lot of things." Sephiroth nodded his agreement and nuzzled Cloud's sweat-dampened hair.

"Enlist?" Angeal stumbled over that in his head.

"He's with the cadet program via the Shinra Regulars," Zack put in, scratching his head sheepishly when Angeal turned to look at him. "We've had a few missions together."

Angeal turned back to the trio on the bed. "How long has this been going on?" Cloud and Zack chuckled.

Genesis sighed. "Angeal, I know you must be just burning inside with questions now, but can it wait? Thanks to your jumping to jackass conclusions Cloud needs aftercare."

"I'll be okay," Cloud said, burrowing into his blanket. "You all need to talk this out."

"Chickabo." Genesis stroked Cloud's wrist.

"I could take care of him."

Genesis and Sephiroth looked up. Even Angeal was surprised. "What?" Zack asked. "I could."

Genesis studied the younger SOLDIER. "You would, wouldn't you? What do you think, Seph?"

Sephiroth, for his part, looked reluctant to part with Cloud just yet. "Will you make sure he takes a potion?"

"Yes, Sir!" Zack snapped to attention.

"I don't need a potion," Cloud protested.

For once Sephiroth ignored him, rising to place Cloud in Zack's arms. "They're in the cabinet over the sink."

"Run a warm bath for him while you're at it," Genesis put in.

"I don't need a bath!" Cloud whined.

"It will help with the soreness, chickabo."

"Oh. Okay."

The three First Classes watched the young pair go, directed towards the adjoining bathroom by a blanket-wrapped Cloud. "Shall we go?" Sephiroth asked, gesturing towards the wreckage of the living room. Angeal nodded.

Genesis ran his fingers along the deep scores in the walls as they walked past. "Angeal, you still owe me a couch."


	14. Negotiations

"So, you and the Generals, huh?" Zack took a good look around the bathroom, resting his eyes anywhere but on Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud said, sitting on the edge of the tub. He passed his hand under the stream of water. Just right and nearly done. He sighed. Some night this had turned out to be. All that planning. He fidgeted under the towel in his lap to get the ribbon off. A limp noodle was good for making that easier, at least. He set the ribbon aside and stroked it wistfully.

Zack paced up and down the bathroom. There was a surprising amount of space in there for it. The whole thing was marble and mirrors, with enough splashes of incongruous color here and there to keep it looking actually lived-in. The shelves held elegantly packaged bath products Zack had never seen in any store, and the tub was practically a swimming pool. "Shit, this place looks expensive," Zack blurted out before he could stop himself.

Cloud laughed a little. "Yeah, Gen doesn't skimp when it comes to his comfort." He ran his fingers under the tap again even though the temperature was perfect. Time to get in. He discarded the towel and began the task of hoisting himself over the edge, hissing a little at the motion.

"Hey, let me help you!" Zack was over in a heartbeat with a hand around Cloud's arm. "Just a little over this way."

"I'm fine, Zack," Cloud said.

"It's just a-"

"Zack, you're pushing me over!"

"Sorry, just let me-"

"Zack, look at what you're doing!"

Zack blinked and quite decidedly did NOT look. Cloud huffed. "For crying out loud, Zack, you've already seen me naked with a dildo up my ass. How is this any worse?"

Zack chuckled a little, turning pink and not from the steam. "Makes sense, I guess. I just wasn't sure…"

"I'm fine with it," Cloud said. "It's only for a second."

Zack nodded and helped Cloud step up properly, then held still so the boy could balance on his way down into the water. Cloud hissed when it reached his hips but the grimace soon gave way to a sort of blissful expression that had Zack feeling a little constrained. Cloud moaned happily and turned the jets on low.

"No way, they have bubbles in there too?" Zack stared in wonder, then frowned at Cloud. "You lucky bum, you're getting all the perks."

Cloud shrugged and resisted the urge to stick his tongue out. "We could trade, if you want."

"Dude!" Zack looked shocked, then collapsed into light giggles. "That was kind of the plan," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Angeal was planning to introduce me. We had no idea you were involved. How'd that happen, anyway?"

"Seph and Gen?" Cloud shrugged. "They asked me. I said 'yes'."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Hmm." Zack perched on the edge of the tub, close enough to be of assistance without getting an accidental eyeful of cadet. "How come, you figure? I mean, not that you're not a total package. Uh, no, wait, not that-"

"It's okay, Zack." Cloud laughed and paddled over to where Zack was sitting. "It's not like we both haven't been naked in bathrooms with guys already."

"Yeah, but I don't really make a habit of feeling them all up, you know." Zack got a glimpse of himself in the mirrored wall behind the tub. Yep, beet red.

Cloud splashed him. "Extenuating circumstances, SOLDIER. Thanks for the rescue attempt, by the way."

Zack splashed back and bowed his head. "Well, I guess if I have to be removing strange objects from an orifice, better yours than anyone else's." Cloud went up to his nose in the water. "How are you doing, Cloud, really?"

Cloud stretched. "I'm okay."

"No, Cloud." Zack was serious. "Really."

Cloud shrunk back from the scrutiny. "What do you mean?"

"Are they really… good to you?" Zack watched the water churning but he caught the way Cloud's shoulders drooped.

"They're not abusing me, Zack." Cloud tried not to sink lower into the water. They had planned for this eventuality, discussed it and braced for it and hoped it would never have to come to this. Cloud wasn't sure if the fact that he already knew Zack made things better or worse. "They don't do anything I don't explicitly agree to."

"But they still outrank you. I mean, obviously they take care of you, but it's not really good footing, is it? I know you said 'yes', but can you really say 'no'."

"Actually I say 'banana'," Cloud said, making a wry face into the water. "And sometimes when they really screw up, 'strawberry'."

Zack blinked through the steam. "Your safewords are fruit?"

"You got anything better?"

Zack's own little signal was at the tip of his tongue but he thought better of it. "Actually, no. That makes perfect sense." Cloud smirked into the water. "So, it's all good?" Zack asked, confirming. Sephiroth and Genesis definitely seemed attentive enough when Cloud was hurt, but how often did that happen?

"It's okay, Zack." Cloud stirred against the flow of the water to watch the surface swirl. "They take good care of me. Too much good care sometimes. They'd spoil me rotten if I let them."

"That so?"

Cloud shrugged. "They were willing to let me have a fling with you." He sank lower into the water again.

"Uh, yeah." Zack almost tittered. "They were really okay with that?"

"Seph was." Cloud studied his toes in the water. "Gen came around."

Seph and Gen. Gen and Seph. Zack couldn't imagine calling those two so familiarly, though it might have come with time if things had progressed smoothly. "So you just wanted a little fling and they let you have it?" Interesting sort of relationship they had going here. Angeal hardly let Zack out of his sight.

Cloud scooted around in the tub so he could look at Zack more directly. "They were willing to and nothing happened anyway. You know that." He kept his eyes on the shelf just to the side of Zack's head. "It wasn't supposed to be sleazy."

"Hey, I didn't mean that. Just… I can't picture tough guys like that being willing to share."

Cloud smiled a little. "Me either." He sighed and rubbed his fingers under the water. Not quite pruney yet. "But they were going to, just because I wanted it." He fought the urge to swallow at revealing such a thing, but if that didn't prove the relationship on some kind of decent footing, nothing would.

"Wow." Zack took a seat at the tub's edge, stirring the water a little. "I don't even get how you could have them like that and still want something more."

"I don't get it either." Cloud shrugged. "But you're just too hot to ignore." The way Zack looked at him had him burning right up to his ears.

Zack chuckled, looking panicked. "You wanted me specifically?" Him, and not just some different experience? Not just some fling?

Cloud was turning as red as he was. "Yeah. I didn't know you already had somebody."

Zack forced his shoulders down. "Why'd you pick me?"

Cloud glanced away for a second. "You look good. And you were nice."

"Well, yeah, I do look good." Zack mock-preened. Cloud splashed him. "Heh. You know, the reason Angeal was bringing me up to meet them was so that I wouldn't have just one somebody anymore."

Cloud got the picture immediately. "He was coming back? That's why they came for me in the first place, because they were lonely without him and they weren't planning to throw me out if he came back."

Zack laughed briefly, but in earnest this time. "So they were going to share you with Angeal, and Angeal was going to share me with them, and instead of talking it out-"

"They go wrecking up the place." Cloud rolled his eyes and paddled forward. He came to rest near Zack and set his head on crossed arms. Zack couldn't help looking this time. Cloud's back was a smooth expanse beneath the water. Zack cursed the ripples from the jets for obscuring the view. Maybe that was for the best.

Cloud was staring so serenely up at him, completely at ease now. "Could you pass my towel, please?"

"You want to get out already?"

"I can't stay in here getting all wrinkly." Cloud pouted in a manner Genesis had unwittingly helped him perfect. He had his lovers' permission. Zack had Hewley's, after a fashion. The First Classes had already proven themselves unsuited to working out the details on their own. It was for the common good, really.

Zack gave him a look. "You really want to waste all this good water? With the jets and everything?" Zack was renowned as a master of the art of Puppy Eyes, but Cloud gave him a look that was a clear threat to his rank.

"I'm just tired, Zack. It's been a long night."

"Aww." Zack leaned over and ruffled the blond spikes, earning a splash for his trouble. "Which one is it?"

"The blue set on the end there." Cloud pointed to the towel racks.

"I see." Zack had to stare for a while. Three neatly folded towel sets hung over the bars, one black with silver edging, one deep crimson and monogrammed and the other, Cloud's, a vivid royal blue, and all of them clearly made of the thick, fluffy stuff of a flat broke Third Class's dreams. "You have your own towel set here?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I have my own toothbrush, too."

Zack looked at the sinks, twin vanities in pale marble with gilt-edged oval mirrors above them. Sure enough, the toothbrush holder in the middle held three, one green, one red and one bright yellow with a chocobo head – shaped handle. "Hey, is that one yours?"

"Yes." Cloud looked away, grateful he was already lobster red from the water.

"It's so cute!" Zack cooed. "Suits you to a T, chocobohead." Now that he looked, the signs were everywhere. The fixtures spoke of opulence, but the non-slip grips on the shower floor were candy-colored and shaped like birds. The bath products came in elegant black containers but there was a bottle of bright yellow kiddy bubble bath high up on the shelf. And hiding under Cloud's towel was the cutest little chocobo washcloth that ever was. "Hey, is this yours too?"

"Yes." Cloud sighed. Darn Gen and his themed shopping.

"And that big yellow comb?"

"Yes."

"That goldfish-shaped bath sponge?"

"Yeah."

"And the little rubber duckie in the corner?"

"No, that's Seph's."

"… Really?"

"Yeah, Gen thought it would help him relax or something."

Zack scratched his head. "Does it work?"

"Not really. Can you help me out, please?" No, he was not fluttering his eyelashes at Zack.

"Sure thing!" Zack went over to get the towel, brow furrowing as he tried to remember something. "Hey, weren't you supposed to take a potion?"

Cloud huffed. This was going nowhere. "I don't need one."

Zack drew himself up. "General Sephiroth said to make sure you take a potion and I am not about to disobey an order from him."

"What are you, chicken? I do it all the time."

"Don't you get all smart-mouthed on me, cadet." Zack marched over to the sink and rustled up a potion. "You're taking it."

Cloud backed into a corner of the tub. "I don't want to. They taste terrible."

Zack deflated. "Yeah, they kinda do." Angeal's voice echoed in his head. "But it's like medicine, not soda. It's not supposed to taste good." He walked back to the tub, loosening the lid as he knelt down. "Come on, you probably won't even have to drink the whole thing." Cloud groaned.

Zack studied the bottle in his hand, then looked back and the boy in the water. The boy who was attracted to him. Cloud wasn't out of reach and a good SOLDIER did whatever it took to get the job done. Zack didn't make a habit of overthinking. He chugged a big mouthful of potion and grabbed Cloud by the hair.

"Hey, what are you-!" It was rough and messy and some of the potion ran down Cloud's chin but he swallowed more than he spilled. When Zack reached out with his tongue to tidy up the spill, Cloud reached out with his own.

Cloud tried not to whimper when Zack pulled away. The SOLDIER was pink-lipped and breathless. "Um, we should stop."

"We don't have to," Cloud said quietly.

"I guess, but you're getting pruney and you could probably use a rest."

"I suppose." Cloud rose. Zack held the towel out wide for him. Cloud didn't move as if he were sore anymore, but the hot bath had made him lightheaded. He wavered, falling against Zack's chest.

"Hey, careful there." Zack held him close. "Don't go cracking your head now that we've got the other end patched up."

"I'll be fine," Cloud said, and in the half-second it took him to plant his legs firmly and pitch them both backwards, Zack saw the devil's light in the boy's eyes.

Zack came up sputtering and soaked. "What did you do that for?" He kicked water at Cloud but Cloud was too wet for it to matter. "This place is a mess!"

"We can clean up afterwards," Cloud said, leaning back and looking thoroughly satisfied. "There's a mop in the supply closet."

"Yeah, but now I'm soaked through." Zack tried not to whine. His shirt was heavy with the water it had absorbed. Stupid regulation knits.

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe you should take your clothes off, then. You're already in the tub."

Zack narrowed his eyes at Cloud. This night was starting to give him some suspicions. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Cloud's voice went low. "I told you I wasn't ready to stop."


	15. Terms of Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reparations, Angeal, them's the terms.

“Are you all right?”

“… yeah… That was…”

“Good?”

“Yeah… wow. Hey, where did you learn to do that?”

“Where do you think?”

“You… really know a lot about this kind of thing, huh?”

“With those two around? Kinda hard _not_ to pick it up.”

“I guess. I should get ready to go.”

“You don’t have to. You can stay a while, at least until they’re done talking out there. Besides, your clothes are still wet.” 

“Heh, yeah. Guess it would raise some uncomfortable questions if I tried to leave in a towel.”

“You can borrow something of mine. They’d be kind of small but I have big pyjamas.”

“You have clothes here?”

“I have towels and a toothbrush. What’s a little closet space? Here, try this one.”

“… How come so many of your clothes have chocobos on them?”

“Just put it on!”

“Okay, okay. Shirt’s kinda tight.”

“Eh, I’ll take it.”

“Choco-shirt, choco-shorts, I’m seeing a pattern here.”

“… It’s all Gen’s fault. Whoa, what’s with that yawn?”

“Nothing. I get tired, you know, afterwards.”

“Need a nap?”

“Is that okay?”

“You can share my pillow. They won’t complain.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

“… Okay, then. Lead the way, Blondie.”

***

Genesis picked his way through the rubble with a sound of disdain. He put a hand on his hip and frowned at the ruined furniture. “I really liked that couch.”

“It’s the same old couch you always had,” Angeal said. 

“I _liked_ it!” Genesis snapped. He toed the hacked framework. “It was special,” he said, going soft.

Sephiroth planted himself firmly in his armchair off in the corner. It was almost the only thing to survive the melee intact. He took a look around the place. Given three First Class SOLDIERs with three very large swords in spacious but still close quarters as battling went, he supposed the damage was inevitable. How much would Genesis want him to contribute to redecorating this time? 

Angeal carefully set himself down on the scarred coffee table, taking a moment to test his weight on it. He kept to one side to leave room for Genesis, given the lack of alternative seating, but Genesis seemed intent on standing. Or not getting that close to Angeal at any rate. Angeal swallowed. 

“So are you going to tell me how this happened?” he asked.

Genesis looked up. “Are you going to tell us why you immediately assumed the worst?”

Angeal grimaced. “That was hasty, I’ll admit, but anyone walking in on a scene like that might think the same.” He looked from one man to the next. “That kid, he looks so young.” 

“And your puppy doesn’t?” 

“Not like that!” Angeal fumed. “Zack’s got some size on him.”

“So that’s all it is?” Genesis crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, glancing back as scored plaster snagged his shirt. “You of all people rushing in on appearances?”

“It looked like an emergency situation!” Angeal insisted. “Anyone else would have done the same! It’s standard procedure, secure the hostage above all else and then take care of the details.”

“Secure the hostage?” Genesis sprang forward. “Hostage? Is that what you were thinking?”

Angeal would not back down. “What did you think it would look like?”

“I thought,” Sephiroth said slowly, “that it looked exactly like the kind of thing we normally do.” He looked up at Angeal. "Have you been away so long you forgot?"

Angeal had no words. Had he been away that long? He glanced up at Genesis who had turned his back on the scene in disgust and was gesticulating wildly to himself in a silent, one-sided argument. Angeal wanted to reach out to him but knew better. 

Angeal sighed. The scene had looked terrible, there was no way around that. The boy, Cloud, was so small, the fine-boned type. His natural pallor only added to the air of fragility around him. And he had looked so, so helpless bound up that way, at anyone’s mercy. Angeal swallowed again. 

“So how’d you talk him into it?” he asked. 

Genesis spun on one heel. “We didn’t talk him into anything. We asked. He consented.” 

Sephiroth nodded in confirmation. “We explained everything to him well beforehand.”

“You did?” Angeal mulled it over. “How long beforehand are we talking, exactly?”

Sephiroth stared at the ceiling to do his silent calculation. “Nearly as long as you’ve been training your student.”

“That long?” Angeal blinked. This was stretching it for a relationship of pure convenience. He thought of the scene in the bedroom again, of the way the other SOLDIERs had cradled the boy and soothed him. 

How the hell had that happened?

Genesis was still in a bitter fit. “You didn’t think we were going to sit around waiting for you forever, did you?” He huffed and stalked away. 

Angeal did not even have time to admit that he had not even thought of that. The three of them had been exclusive for quite some time before Zack. They had been too distanced from other people by their own shared experiences. They understood one another, knew one another and fit seamlessly into one another’s lives. He had taken Zack on only after great deliberation, sure that Sephiroth and Genesis could keep each other occupied in the meantime. 

Except that the puppy’s smiles seemed to have turned his brain to fluff. Sephiroth and Genesis were barely compatible in certain respects. The rivalry in the training room and the battleground exploded in the bedroom. It had been simple enough at first, when Sephiroth had been young and inexperienced, but as he came into his own and decided firmly where his tastes lay, it all fell apart. 

They both liked to top. It was blue murder getting one to bottom for the other. It only worked out because Angeal had been there, keeping track of whose turn it was, or willingly bottoming himself if they were being difficult. He had been the balance, the firm-handed, occasionally submissive partner to bridge the gap between them.

A sub. Was that what that Cloud boy had become for them? The one to willingly serve under them? Their little pet? 

“He was willing, right?” Angeal asked. 

“Of course,” Sephiroth said. Genesis was nowhere in sight. Light clatter gave his position in the kitchen away. Angeal sighed and stood. It would be just like Genesis to be touchy right now. Just like anyone, actually, given a ruined night, an argument with a friend and a hurt lover to top it all off. 

“Genesis?” Angeal walked over to the kitchen and stopped at the entryway. The walls looked more scuffed and scorched than he remembered but he soon put it aside. “Genesis?”

Genesis busied himself with pouring a glass of water and studiously ignoring Angeal. It was hard not to feel a pang at that. It was predictable and familiar and in its own way, heart-warming. Angeal wondered how he had gone so long without his friend. 

“Genesis, I’m sorry I ruined your night.” It was clear and sincere, the way apologies should be. Angeal would never, on his honor, settle for less. 

Genesis froze, his back to the door. “Is that all?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come see you more,” Angeal continued. It was so surprisingly easy, always had been, to spill his heart to this man. “I’m sorry I neglected you and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the puppy sooner.”

Genesis shut the fridge door and turned around, looking tired. “What about the puppy?”

“That I was bringing him for you. For all of us.” Angeal got a stool from the breakfast bar and sat down. “I’ve been training him to… play… with us. I never meant to keep away so long.” 

Genesis rolled his eyes. “Got a little swept up in your _training_ program, did you?” 

“I thought it was just a crush at first,” Angeal explained. “If he got what he wanted, he might move on to people his own age. But then it didn’t go away and I didn’t want it to. The only way to keep him and us was to bring him into the fold. I only wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be hurt.”

“So you stayed by him,” Genesis finished, with a hint of bitterness underneath. He took a long drink of water and set the glass down, staring at the fog still forming on its sides. Angeal offered a silent prayer for forgiveness. He reached one hand out across the counter but Genesis pulled away from the contact. 

Angeal leaned back and nodded. Genesis could and would hold a grudge. He would steam and stew in his own private rage until he made his peace with it. Then all would be well again. Angeal marvelled at it, that he knew the person before him so well. He had never noticed before how instinctive his understanding of Genesis was. Now he only saw it because he had not let himself have cause to practice it in a while. How had he ever given that up? Zack was special, true, but Genesis was too, and poor Sephiroth was all alone out there in the living room.

“I’ll help clean up,” Angeal said, moving to get the broom. 

“Leave it.” Genesis waved him off. “It’s late. I’m tired and I need to make sure Cloud’s okay.”

“Okay.” 

Genesis left the kitchen with Angeal meekly following. “Seph,” Genesis said, sounding weary, “I’m turning in for the night. Are the pets okay?” 

Sephiroth looked away from the television. “The pets?”

Genesis rolled his eyes. “Cloud and the puppy, or course. It’s not like we’re keeping goldfish in here.”

“I wouldn’t mind a bunny rabbit,” Sephiroth said wistfully. 

“Seph!”

“I haven’t heard anything,” Sephiroth answered. “I suppose they would have called if they needed assistance.”

“Let’s make sure Cloud hasn’t passed out in the tub, okay?”

Sephiroth nodded and rose, taking time to switch the television off. It was almost too bad that it had survived the fight. He would have had no problem paying for an upgrade. 

Genesis led the way into the bedroom. He made an angry sound at the rubble on the floor. The hole in the ceiling was not going to be a pleasant fix by any means. But then he saw the boys on the bed, sharing a pillow and one set of dark blue pyjamas, the one bare-chested and the other bare-legged.

“Oh, my.” Never let it be said that Genesis Rhapsodos did not know beauty when he saw it. 

Even Sephiroth had to blink. The pair seemed completely at ease, snuggled close to each other for warmth, damp hair still standing tall in furiously stubborn spikes. Dark and gold, tanned and pale, both fine-boned and comely… Sephiroth did not consider himself half the judge of such things as Genesis, but he would definitely say the effect was pleasing. He shifted where he stood. 

“Looks like your pup’s already settled down for the night,” he said.

Angeal stood in the doorway, taking it in. “I’ll wake him up and we’ll go.”

“Don’t bother.” Genesis waved him off. “He’s already sound asleep.”

“Am I supposed to just leave him here with you?” Angeal asked.

Genesis looked back, eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter, Angeal? Are you afraid I’ll abuse him while you’re gone?”

“You don’t have to leave.” Sephiroth cut in before things got nasty. “It’s not like you haven’t slept in this bed before.”

Genesis sighed. “Why not, we’ve got the space.”

Angeal glanced over at the bed, trying hard not to stare at the sleeping boys. “Is that okay?”

Genesis shrugged. “You don’t hurt mine, I won’t hurt yours. Oh, but you have to make mine breakfast in the morning. Pancakes.”

“Pan… cakes?” Angeal frowned. What did that have to do with anything?

“Yes, Angeal, pancakes, flapjacks, griddlecakes, fluffy flatcakes cooked in a pan and served with syrup and toppings. You’re making them. A lot of them.” 

Sephiroth nodded. “You hurt Cloud, you make him a pancake breakfast in the morning. It’s tradition.”

Angeal blinked. They were starting _traditions_ with this kid? How long had he left them alone, exactly? Then another thought hit him. “Did you make him pancakes?”

Sephiroth shrugged. “When we had to.”

“And he _survived_?”

“We’re not that bad.” Sephiroth looked away. “We’re getting better.” 

Angeal had his doubts about that but Genesis was looking at him expectantly. “Okay, I’ll make us all pancakes in the morning.” To ensure the boy didn’t sicken, if nothing else. “Any other requests?”

“Strawberries and bananas,” the other two said in unison. Angeal twitched. That was creepy. He really had left them alone too long. Sephiroth and Genesis began readying themselves for bed, Sephiroth sparing a moment to frown at the gap in the ceiling before stripping. 

“Leave it alone, Seph,” Genesis said. “We can get it in the morning.”

“Just let me get the harness out.” 

Angeal smiled in relief. That, at least, had not changed. He folded his shirt and set it neatly on the chair in the corner. Genesis was already down to some skimpy crimson shorts. Angeal sighed, almost sorry that they were about to do nothing but sleep. 

Genesis looked up as he draped himself over the blond. He nuzzled the boy’s hair. He made a show of nibbling at Cloud’s ear, moving down to the jaw to bury his face in Cloud’s neck. The boy murmured in his sleep and settled into the cocoon of Genesis’s arms, smiling softly. Genesis was smiling too, at Angeal, spitefully. 

Angeal turned away to work on his belts. He sat on the bed with a sigh and swung himself up. “Sleep well, puppy?” Zack rolled over slightly, not entirely letting the other boy go. That could mean trouble, Angeal reflected as he settled down. Or maybe not. This was new territory all around. They would have to take it one day at a time. 

Zack mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep. Angeal curled himself around the boy. “I’m here,” he said, “go back to sleep.”

Sephiroth finally gave up on the mess and joined them in the bed. “Goodnight, everyone,” he said, switching off the light. Genesis seemed to relax a little with the silver-haired man spooned around him. 

Angeal relaxed too. They could work this out. He would work this out, even if it took a pancake mountain and the whole damned produce aisle to do it.


	16. Peace Offering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angeal begins his long apology with pancakes.

Angeal woke at zero five hundred sharp to Genesis poking him in the ribs. “Get up,” Genesis ordered. “You have breakfast to make.” Angeal grunted and shifted out of reach.

Genesis glared at him across the gulf of two sweetly sleeping boys. “Breakfast, Angeal. You owe us.” Angeal sighed. He had made a deal. He slid out of bed, taking the time to tuck the covers around Zack before leaving.

He navigated his way into the kitchen by touch and memory. There was enough light for a SOLDIER to see but he was still half-asleep. He idly wondered at the state of the fridge since he had taken his unexpected leave of absence. Angeal braced himself in the darkness and opened the door.

“Huh.” It was at once worse and better than he had expected. It was clean; neither Sephiroth nor Genesis could abide dirt and mildew. It was also stocked with enough strawberries and bananas to fill a stall at the farmers’ market. He bent down to examine the situation. They were buying the things faster than they were eating them, from all appearances. Some of the strawberries and practically all the bananas were fit for nothing but fritters and pancakes already.

Angeal made a quick scan of the countertops. Sure enough, there were two bunches of half-ripe bananas hanging from the little hooked fruit stand Genesis had bought because of the apple logo on the side. It was all rather wasteful by Angeal’s reckoning, but then there were three SOLDIER Generals and two growing boys to feed. It seemed he had come along just in time. “Okay,” he muttered, trying to keep himself awake. “Strawberry and banana pancakes it is.”

He scouted out eggs and milk behind a healthy collection of carry out containers from very expensive restaurants and one all-you-can eat seafood buffet at plate’s edge. There was flour in the cupboard next to several brands of pancake mix. Angeal looked at the boxes and wondered just how much apologizing Sephiroth and Genesis did. He lined up the basics and sized up the task before him. “Mixing bowls,” he mumbled and got to work.

He had been at it for nearly an hour when Genesis made his timely appearance in the kitchen doorway. The man wore a robe, crimson and loosely tied. Angeal trained his eyes away so the pancakes would not burn.

“Almost done,” he said, pretending the rasp in his voice was still from sleep. “Banana pancakes on the left, strawberry on the right, combo in the middle and I’m stacking up the plain ones now.” Genesis said nothing but he seemed pleased enough. He got out a tray and began stacking plates and utensils for all. Angeal flipped his millionth pancake over and swallowed. “We’re eating in bed?”

“Table’s not big enough for five of us and all this.”

Angeal caught Genesis’s frown in his peripheral vision but Genesis was moving before he could say anything. “Preference in syrup?” Genesis asked.

Angeal poured more batter and kept his head down. “Honey, you know that.”

Genesis shrugged. “Tastes can change after a long time. Which kind?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Angeal said, leaving it in Genesis’s hands. He saw Genesis put out a bottle of clover honey and felt his heart sink just a little. There had been a bottle of Banora White Blossom in the cupboard too. Maybe it was random. Maybe Genesis had only picked up whichever was closest at hand. Maybe Genesis didn’t consider Angeal worthy of sharing his beloved dumbapple products anymore.

Angeal turned his attention back to the stove and began to flip pancakes with a vengeance. He had made enough to feed a small army, which, to be fair, was exactly what was waiting to be fed. If this was how one made amends in whatever strange arrangement Genesis and Sephiroth had with that young man, Angeal would make amends ten times over to get to the bottom of it.

He poured the last of the batter out into a mini pancake, making a small shape out of it since it did not seem inclined to roundness, and then tossed the jug into the sink. “Almost done here,” he said.

Genesis nodded. “I’ll get the coffee ready.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

Sephiroth had woken as soon as the scent of good cooking filled the apartment. He was tempted to go see exactly what Angeal was doing, to remember it for later, but the bed was warm, work wasn’t pressing and Cloud was a pretty sight asleep on mornings after.

The other boy wasn’t bad to look at either. Sephiroth propped himself up on one elbow and shuffled his way into the warm spot Genesis had left behind. Cloud barely stirred but Angeal’s puppy twitched a little at the shift in the mattress. His fingers clenched at a sword that wasn’t there. Sephiroth approved silently. This one was starting to develop the sensitivity and reflexes one would expect of a skilled SOLDIER. It was possible he could be good company for Cloud.

Between one thing and the next, Sephiroth had his suspicions that this was who Cloud had been pining after all along. They had taken to each other with such obvious ease. Cloud clearly had not waited for more permission than he had already been given. With the boy being Angeal’s belated ‘present’ to them, there was the possibility of a tidy outcome. It was a closed circle of sorts, no loose threads, and only familiar elements being thrown into the mix.

Fine elements too, Sephiroth thought. The puppy was a handsome young man. Sephiroth did not find him quite as delicately pretty as Cloud but he was well-formed, fresh-faced and definitely attractive. And sturdy. Built to take a good pounding. Sephiroth buried his face in Cloud’s hair and tamed his thoughts. Unfortunately the view past the curve of Cloud’s slender neck gave Sephiroth a glimpse of Zack’s lush, pouty lips.

Sephiroth groaned and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t wake the boys up yet and both Angeal and Genesis had left the bed so there was no one around to help with his growing problem. He sighed and turned onto his back. One would think that with a potential choice of four partners certain things would not have to be dealt with alone. Sephiroth sighed and reached down.

“Lucky puppy,” he said, looking under the sheets. “Got into Cloud’s pants right away.” Sephiroth’s lips twisted as he considered it. The two young men were clearly taken with each other, still clinging to each other in the early morn. Angeal’s boy, Zack, had faint marks on his neck which Sephiroth assumed must have been Cloud’s doing. He could just picture them together, the pup with the wild energy of youth and Cloud, slender and flexible, holding tight, putting up more fight than the pup was prepared for. They would be fierce and playful and messy as only young men could be.

Angeal had often called his puppy noisy, but Cloud was delightfully unrestrained in bed. Sephiroth’s breath caught as he considered who would be louder, who would top, who would peak first. He would have to find out firsthand sometime. Cloud did not mind an audience and Sephiroth was sure the puppy could be brought around. Cloud stirred at the movement going on next to him, groaning slightly as he turned. The small sound was enough for Sephiroth. He rocked upwards slightly, eyes clenching. He was silent, as always, and managed to fall back into the bed without waking the younger ones.

They had barely budged an inch, Sephiroth noted, reaching for a tissue. Surely trained fighting men, even the regulars, should wake faster than that. They must have tired each other out properly the night before and they hadn’t even needed dinner and a show first. Sephiroth would not waste time being jealous. He had given the okay, after all.

He rolled onto his side, draping an arm over Cloud. He would not touch the other yet, not without permission from both Angeal and the boy himself. One good clear look at the boy’s sleeping face and Sephiroth resolved to get that permission as soon as possible.

“Breakfast is served,” Genesis announced, walking into the room with a stack of plates and his robe hanging open.

Sephiroth raised his head and quirked one eyebrow. “Sausage?”

Genesis set the plates down so he could fasten his belt. “Pancakes. Honestly, you do have a one track mind in the morning.”

Sephiroth could not say anything in protest. He also did not feel like moving just yet, but the commotion had Cloud and the puppy stirring. Zack sat up quickly, blinking at the unfamiliar room around him, taking in the present company and his proximity. Cloud simply registered that he was in Sephiroth’s arms and rolled over to go back to sleep.

“Cloud, wake up,” Sephiroth prompted, sitting up and taking Cloud with him. “Pancakes.”

Cloud blinked. “Where?” His eyes settled on Zack, who was huddling on the bed, trying to make himself as small as possible. “Good morning, Zack. You like pancakes?”

“Yeah,” Zack said too loudly. Cloud’s smile did not set him at ease.

“Banana and strawberry,” Angeal announced, toeing the door open to enter with a loaded tray in each hand. He set the trays down at the foot of the bed and went over to his puppy.

Zack stared up at Angeal, looking contrite and uncertain. Angeal took that in and ruffled Zack’s hair. “Sleep well, pup?” Zack almost yipped. Instead he reached out and hugged Angeal around the waist. “It’s okay, Zack,” Angeal said, petting the boy slowly. “Grab a plate and eat. Don’t be shy. There’s plenty more. I’ll be right back.” He extricated himself from Zack’s grip to go back to the kitchen, belatedly scolding himself for leaving his pet to wake alone in a strange place.

Genesis swung past him with a pot of coffee in one hand and tea in the other. “Pick your poison, lovelies,” he called out.

“Can I have milk?” Cloud asked.

“Of course you can, chickabo.” Genesis leaned over Sephiroth to kiss Cloud’s head before swinging back out to the kitchen again.

Sephiroth started passing out plates. “Zack, is it?” he asked. “What will you be having?”

“Um, banana, I guess,” Zack said, wide-eyed and suddenly aware that he was in bed with a naked man. A naked man who was NOT Angeal. A naked man who was not only naked but also THE General Sephiroth, hero and modern day legend. Who was naked. And serving him pancakes. Naked.

“Butter? Shredded cheese?” Sephiroth asked. “Strawberry syrup or maple? Cinnamon? Chocolate? Honey?”

“Um, cheese ‘n honey,” Zack said, reverting to an old Gongagan standby combination that had gotten him more than a few strange looks in Midgar. Sephiroth did not bat an eye, serving up a stack just as Zack had ordered it.

“Eat well,” Sephiroth said, and Zack wondered if he was imagining that smirk. “You need to replenish your energy.” Sephiroth turned his attention to Cloud before Zack could figure out what that meant.

Sephiroth fixed Cloud up with a mixed selection. He turned up his face a little when Cloud requested all the syrups at once but passed the plate over with a wry remark about ‘young blood burning it off’. Cloud settled back into a nest of pillows and looked at Zack. “Aren’t you going to eat? They’ll get cold.”

Zack stared down at the plate he had almost forgotten. He recognized Angeal’s work in the kitchen and it soothed a knot in his chest that he had not realized was there till it was gone. He flashed Cloud a brilliant smile and dug in.

Sephiroth stayed where he was, cutting slowly into his mixed stack of pancakes, similarly drowned in syrup, though he took his one at a time. He chewed slowly and enjoyed the view. Oh, yes, this was an interesting development to be sure.

“I’m back!” Genesis called out. He set another tray down on the bed. Angeal came in behind him with the last of the pancakes and a large bowl of fresh, diced fruit. Genesis took a look around. “Well, you’ve all made yourselves comfortable.” He reached for a plate but Angeal stopped him.

“Let me,” Angeal said. “I know how you like them.”

Genesis’s mouth curled downwards for a moment but he didn’t want to make a scene and ruin what was a tolerable morning. He busied himself pouring tea for Sephiroth, coffee for himself and milk for the young pets exchanging forkfuls on the bed.

“Did you make all this by yourself?” Cloud asked. Angeal nodded. There wasn’t a hint of shyness in this young man. Either he was childishly beyond shame or he considered himself on home turf and well-guarded. Angeal wondered which it was. “They’re really good,” Cloud said, licking syrup from his lips.

Angeal tried not to stare. “How’d you figure?”

Cloud chewed and swallowed. “Genesis makes his pancakes really thin. Doesn’t matter what recipe he starts with. They all turn out transparent.” Sephiroth grunted in agreement, busy chewing.

Genesis snorted. “They’re crepe-like.”

Cloud and Sephiroth shared a look and Angeal felt like a third wheel. Or fifth, all things considered. “Seph’s pancakes come out thicker,” Cloud continued, “but he always cooks them too long.”

“I just want to be sure they’re done,” Sephiroth insisted. “Raw eggs can give you salmonella.”

“Can you even get salmonella?” Cloud asked.

“No, but you might,” Sephiroth replied, reaching for a napkin. “You have a milk mustache now. Let me get that.”

“I got it.” Cloud tried to take the napkin but Sephiroth wouldn’t let him. “Seph, quit it! Stuff will spill and then the sheets will be all sticky.”

Genesis smirked. “How is that any different from all the other times you sleep here?” Cloud only pouted but Angeal and his pup both blushed and looked away. Genesis gloated.

“Here,” Angeal said, passing him a full plate. The man could not meet Genesis’s eyes. Genesis took the plate with too much gratitude to be sincere and reached for some cutlery. He looked down at the stack of plain pancakes. Beside the square of butter melting into the larger pool of cinnamon syrup was the last little pancake Angeal had made.

It was a heart.


	17. Command Structure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are different. Angeal isn't sure he likes it.

The mad orgy Angeal had been expecting did not happen that weekend. Something happened, obviously. Several somethings, even. But it was, overall, a very secretive series of isolated occurrences recognized only after the fact by glances and gestures and the odd newly-blossomed bruise. 

Genesis, of course, had wasted no time at all in molesting Zack. (“Well, technically, Angeal, ‘molest’ means ‘to bother’ and he wasn’t a bother at all!”) Angeal caught the hints of it in his pup’s flushed cheeks and too-quick movements until Genesis reliably removed all doubt. (“Oh, relax, he won’t get pregnant. We did it in the shower standing up.”)

It was also painfully obvious that _something_ was happening between Zack and the boy, Cloud. They spent a day in pajamas, lazily curled up together like a pair of pampered, overfed cats, chattering a mile a minute about ‘noobs’ and ‘fragging’. Angeal supposed it was the latest teen vernacular and kept his distance. 

Sephiroth and Genesis fucked twice that he knew of, noisily. Afterwards Angeal found a gouge in the bedroom closet that he knew had not been his doing. Truth be told, up to the point when Sephiroth went down on him in the kitchen, Angeal had been starting to feel left out. The buzz from his ‘welcome back’ blowjob lasted only as long as it took for him to find Zack and Cloud clinging to each other in bed, breathless, trembling and noticeably sans clothing beneath the sheets. Genesis lounged beside them and smirked. 

It was almost a relief when Monday came. Cloud disappeared to wherever it was a cadet needed to be, giving Angeal the space he wanted for a serious talk. Except that nobody could or would talk with him. Sephiroth got shipped out that same afternoon to handle a situation near Costa del Sol and Genesis, still fanning angry embers, was more interested in ringing up contractors for repairs and redecorating. He made it quite clear that Angeal was in the way. (I can’t think in this mess! Large irregular objects in places they don’t belong are bad feng shui!”) So Angeal retreated into work for the day, tidying up and getting his filing done, streamlining Zack’s training schedule and, once he was satisfied that everyone was convinced that nothing was out of the ordinary, began a little digging of utmost importance.

It turned out that Cloud was old enough. Just barely, in fact, and Angeal had always found Midgar’s age of consent to be scandalously low. But legally all requirements were met and presumably had been at the start of the affair. The kid sure did have a weird last name, ‘Strife’. But ‘Cloud’ was hardly any better and even ‘Fair’ was pretty rare in Angeal’s experience. At any rate, Cloud Strife was a very pretty young man. It was easy to see what had attracted the other two. 

Angeal wondered how they had found Cloud. SOLDIERs rarely interacted with cadets and troopers, except to take note of the few who were particularly promising. Cloud’s initial scores were dismal. Of course, that could have been due as much to size as anything else and according to the records he was showing steady improvement. Angeal stared at the screen, tracking the graphs and charts. The surge in the height line was very recent. Hit his growth spurt late, Angeal supposed, and from the looks of Cloud’s bone structure, he would never be very tall. But a slender build had its advantages, with the right training, and Cloud was in a unique position to receive some of the best. 

Angeal shifted uncomfortably. It didn’t appear that Sephiroth and Genesis were training the boy for _combat_, exactly. The boy wasn’t complaining but _that_, Angeal was aware, could be difficult. Cloud Strife was young, inexperienced and outranked. If he was anything like the boys who flocked to Shinra in droves dreaming of heroism and heroes, he would be easy pickings for anyone with a mind to take advantage. Not that Sephiroth and Genesis would take advantage. Not intentionally. 

Angeal crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, frowning at the screen. He didn’t like it. He couldn’t say he liked it, and wouldn’t, if asked. It was just as likely from where Angeal stood that the Generals were the ones being taken in, seduced by some sweet-looking cadet with wide eyes, soft lips and machinations in his mind. Cloud was in the perfect position to wheedle whatever he wanted out of them, holding the threat of the law over their heads if they did not comply. 

But Zack had taken to Cloud so easily and so well. The puppy was at heart a trusting type but he knew the scent of danger. Angeal had done his best to teach Zack how to spot the worst of it when it came to matters of the bed. Ceaseless suspicion, unreasonable jealousy, monopolization, manipulation, Zack could spot the warning signs in a dominant partner. But if Cloud was holding the chains from beneath…. Angeal shook his head and gathered up a stack of reports. He wasn’t getting much done in the office today. He shut his computer off and rose to go home. 

The walk was not long. Angeal was settled in at the kitchen table before he knew it. He had a small study, but for slow, relaxed work, for the days he preferred mulling things over, he was content to work where the food was and distract himself feeding a SOLDIER’s endless appetite. He made himself a mug of cocoa and shook muffin crumbs out of the papers until Zack came home. 

“Angeal!” Zack hollered.

“Kitchen, puppy,” Angeal called out. Zack bounded in, chattering about his day while he grabbed leftovers from the fridge. Angeal leaned back and watched his puppy move. 

Zack sensed the silence and his mentor’s eyes. He turned. “Angeal?” He slid to floor and rubbed a cheek against Angeal’s knee. “You okay?”

Angeal ruffled Zack’s hair. “I’m fine, puppy. Put some more vegetables in your bowl.” Zack gave him a look. “Puppy,” Angeal warned. Zack sighed and got up, carefully, consciously silent. He settled down, leaning heavily on the counter to watch his food heat up, letting the only sound in the room be the microwave’s steady hum.

“Puppy, what do you think of Cloud?” 

Zack smirked. “He’s a pretty neat guy. We’ve been on missions together a couple times.”

“You have?” Angeal tilted his head. 

Zack turned around, leaning back with his elbows on the counter. “Yeah, remember I told you a while back that a cadet asked me out?”

Angeal sat up. “That was him?”

“That was him.” Zack nodded. The microwave dinged and he spun around to get his bowl. 

Angeal frowned harder. “But if he’s been seeing the other two for months, what was he doing asking you out?”

“They were letting him experiment.” Zack blew on his food and dug in with a spoon, still leaning on the counter. “Well, that’s what he told me, anyway.” 

“Hmm.” Angeal considered it. The three of them, First Classes, had never _officially_ made exclusivity a part of their relationship. It had simply become a habit. That lack of formal agreement was exactly what had let Angeal consider himself conveniently free enough to take Zack to bed. There would be no use arguing on those grounds with Sephiroth and Genesis. He swirled the last of the long-cold cocoa in his cup, watching the liquid swirl over the half-dissolved sludge at the bottom. 

They hadn’t changed, those two, not one bit, especially not Genesis. Little Cloud would walk the lush trails of absolute debauchery and Genesis would be there to cheer him on, just as he had for Sephiroth, once. Angeal sighed. He’d had his own part to play in that too, so he could hardly call himself blameless. He glanced up at Zack, who was still standing by the counter, wolfing his food. 

Time did wear on for some people. Angeal couldn’t imagine stepping aside now to let Zack roam free. Not like that. The pup would have more partners, certainly, but only those carefully screened and approved by Angeal himself. The image of the other two flogging a pretty, young cadet into complete submission flashed in his mind again. He sighed. Gaia help him, he was approving that? Could his puppy handle it? Did he _want_ his puppy to handle it?

Genesis’s sneering boast rang in his head. Done was done. It was too late to go back now. At the very least, Zack didn’t seem to have been the least bit put off by anything. “Zack?”

Zack pulled his face out of the bowl. “What?” Gaia, he ate as messily as a puppy even when they weren’t playing it that way. 

Angeal took a deep breath. “Do you want to go back?”

“Where?”

“To Genesis’s place.”

“You mean like right now?”

“I mean, ever.”

Zack shrugged. “Why not? It wasn’t bad. I could get used to it.”

Angeal set his mug down and stood. “So you’re okay with the original plan then? No second thoughts because of the unexpected?”

Zack set the bowl down on the counter, craning his head up as Angeal approached. “It’s weird for you because you don’t know Cloud at all, huh?”

Angeal stopped. “I suppose.” He reached out and wrapped his arms around his young pet. Zack yielded in his arms, melting against Angeal’s chest. Angeal nuzzled Zack’s hair and let his hands roam. Zack’s body was firm, powerful to the touch. Angeal could not deny the thrill that ran through him, having that kind of beauty bowed to his will. He saw blond hair and a leather blindfold again, and forced it from his mind. 

“He’s a good kid, Angeal,” Zack was saying. “Getting way more action than I woulda guessed in a zillion years but he’s a sweetheart, I promise.” Angeal said nothing. “Angeal?” Zack asked.

“What is it?”

“Give him a chance at least?” Zack sounded hopeful. Angeal stepped back, holding Zack in place by the shoulders so he could get a good look at his pup. The words Zack had said to him one lazy afternoon rose slowly to the surface. 

“You want to top,” Angeal said. “You want to top Cloud.”

Zack blushed fiercely but did not look away. “Is that so bad? I can’t try it with you and I don’t think the other two would let me either.” Angeal kept mum on that matter. Zack blinked a little. “I just want to know what it’s like.”

“Don’t you already?” Angeal could have cursed himself for the accusation in his tone. 

Zack only looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Angeal did his level best to keep his face neutral but there was a brusqueness to his tone nonetheless. “Saturday night, when I came into the bedroom, it looked like you two had….”

Zack took a small step back. “You’re mad at me.”

Angeal shook a little, shaking Zack in turn. “I am not!”

“You are.” Zack gasped, looking around on the floor, to his recourse from punishment. “I touched without permission. Cloud, he wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Zack!” Angeal shook Zack a little harder, grasping him hard to keep him from sliding to the floor where he would cry and bare his throat and take a chewing out like an upstart wolf cub being taught a lesson. “Zack, I am not mad at you!”

It occurred to Angeal that shaking the boy wasn’t the best way to get that message across so he let Zack go. Zack stepped backwards, bumping into the counter. “You’re not?” he asked, meek only for his mentor. 

Angeal stepped backwards too, sitting down so he would not tower over the boy. “I’m not,” he said. “I just want to know what’s going on.”

Zack swallowed. “Um, Genesis…” Ah, yes, always Genesis. Love for the man was so often mixed up with the urge to wring his neck. Zack glanced away before continuing. “He wanted to watch… both of us, you know, together.” Zack cleared his throat. “He was giving instructions.”

Angeal wanted to slam his head repeatedly on his kitchen table. It was good, sturdy wood; it could handle the beating. “Did he record it?”

“Huh?” Zack blinked.

“Never mind.” Angeal beckoned with one hand. “Come here, puppy.” Zack came over and slid to the floor, sitting up with his head near Angeal’s knees. He looked up at Angeal with as perfect a pair of puppy eyes as there had ever been. Angeal patted his thigh invitingly and Zack leaned in, rubbing his face against it. Angeal was content to stroke Zack’s hair for a while, and brush his fingers across the boy’s soft cheek. 

“You say Cloud’s a decent kid?”

“Yes, Angeal.”

“Then we’ll give it a try,” Angeal allowed. “I don’t suppose I can do anything else, since he’s part of their package deal now.” Zack chuckled. “And you,” Angeal continued, scratching Zack’s head for emphasis, “if you want to do some experimenting of your own with him, I can be okay with that.”

Zack perked up. “Really?”

“For the time being. You did say you know him, right?”

“Mmhmm.” Zack nodding fiercely, almost wriggling with joy.

“And you like him, if I remember what you said correctly.”

Zack turned pink but he nodded more. “Yeah.”

Angeal smoothed Zack’s hair, or tried to at any rate, allowing himself a small smile. “Then have fun, pup. Be careful, but enjoy yourself and if there’s any trouble at all, with any of them, you come to me, okay?”

Zack sat up and gave a happy yip. “Yes, Sir!”

“Alright, puppy, that's enough.” Angeal rose. “Come on over here before you get so excited you widdle on my kitchen floor.”


	18. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angeal and Zack investigate affairs from the inside.

“No! No! No!” Genesis shouted into the phone. “You sent me the caramel when I very clearly ordered sapodilla! No, it’s not the same!”

“Um…” Zack froze in the doorway, brand new keycard still in hand. 

“Hi, Zack,” Cloud called from the pile of pillows and blankets that was serving as temporary seating. “I got cupcakes. You want?”

“Hell, yeah!” Zack sidestepped past Genesis, nerves forgotten, and bellyflopped into place. “Chocolate?” 

“Red velvet,” Cloud said, passing the tray. “Gen’s way of saying sorry for the couch being wrecked.”

“But that was Angeal’s fault.” 

“Shh!” Cloud elbowed him. “You want cupcakes or not?”

“Oh.” Zack grinned and licked the creamy frosting off his cupcake with relish. “Whatcha watching?”

“Nothing, really,” Cloud said, and Zack did not miss the pointed look up at Genesis. He smirked and took the remote from Cloud, flipping channels with one eye on the pacing General. 

“I have it here in black and white, one pair of mahogany end-tables, dark finish with sapodilla trim!” 

Zack ducked his head low. “He’s arguing about the _trim_?”

“Shh.” Cloud sucked the raspberry gummi candy off the top of another cupcake. “Don’t break his stride.”

Genesis whirled around. “Do you want me to fax you my copy of the invoice? I can do that! No, don’t tell me you’re _out_ of the sapodilla now, I custom-ordered it and paid extra for the rush delivery!”

“What color is sapodilla?” Zack whispered.

“Kind of a light golden-brown, I think.”

“Oh.” Zack frowned. “How’s that’s different from caramel?”

Cloud shrugged. “Beats me, but it’s Gen’s place and Gen’s money.”

“Guess so,” Zack muttered, reaching for another cupcake “But it seems like a lot of trouble for a pair of end-tables if you ask me.”

“That’s Gen for you.” Cloud noticed Genesis frowning down at them while he listened to the poor sod on the other end of the line. “Shoot, find something to watch!”

“Foo’ball okay?” Zack asked.

“Sure,” Cloud mumbled. “Don’t talk with your mou’ full.”

“Hey!” Zack swallowed. “What were you just doing, oh, Mother dear?”

“I’m younger than you. I can get away with it.” Cloud stuck his cupcake-coated tongue out for emphasis.

“EWW!” Zack recoiled and buried his head under a pillow in self-defence. “That is disgusting! What are you, twelve?”

“If I was, I’d still be more mature than you.” Cloud took another cupcake and nibbled at it daintily. 

“No fair,” Zack whined, wriggling around as he crumpled his cupcake paper. “You can’t have it both ways!”

Cloud hit Zack with the heavy-lidded look that still took the young SOLDIER by surprise. “I can have it any way I want.” Cloud curled his tongue around the raspberry candy topping, sucking it slowly into his mouth. He parted his lips to reveal it, red and glistening between his teeth, before slithering down under the covers. Zack stared after him, mouth suddenly dry. 

Genesis sighed contentedly from across the room. “Almost makes up for being put on hold.” Zack blushed hard. The smirk that prompted from Genesis only made Zack turn redder. “Better go down there after him, Zack,” Genesis encouraged, waggling his eyebrows. “There’s no telling what kind of trouble he’ll get into in that mood.”

Zack looked askance at Genesis. “I think you know exactly what kind of trouble he’ll get into,” he said, but he lifted the comforter and dove down after Cloud anyway. Genesis leaned back against the wall, smiling to himself. 

There was a sudden knock at the door. “It’s me,” Angeal said, nudging the door open with one foot. He walked in laden with grocery bags and took a look at the giggling down-filled pile on the floor. “Uh, do I want to know?” 

“Half-time entertainment,” Genesis replied, frowning the instant he realized his voice was warmer than he wanted it to be. Luckily the terrifyingly cute on-hold music stopped, rescuing him from actually having to talk to Angeal. 

Angeal sighed. “Puppy,” he called. “You in there?”

Zack yipped from under the covers and wriggled around until his head stuck out. Cloud appeared next to him, bundled up with only his wide eyes showing. They were an interesting shade of blue.

“Angeal? Zack called. “You wanted something?”

Angeal shook himself back to alertness. “I’m going to make dinner.”

“Uh…” Zack scratched the back of his head. “I’m not really hungry.”

Angeal nearly dropped the groceries. “Are you sick?”

“No.” Zack tried to smile broadly and brightly and keep the hysteria out of his voice. “I kinda already ate.” Cloud sank back down into the blankets, completely out of sight.

“What did you eat?” Angeal knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Um, cupcakes,” Zack said. 

“Cupcakes,” Angeal repeated.

“Red velvet cupcakes,” Cloud piped up from under the covers.

Angeal held back a sigh. “How many?” 

“Um,” Zack scratched his head again. He inched closer to the Cloud-lump in the blanket, seeking support in touch.

“A dozen,” Genesis said, snapping the phone shut. 

Angeal’s knees gave out and he fell sideways into the wall. “Each?”

“No, not each.” Genesis sneered. “Cloud probably had most of them.”

Angeal knew better than to lecture Genesis at the moment so he turned his attentions to the boys on the floor. “You know the rules, Zack. Pigging out on junk food does not get you out of eating a proper meal. I’m making stew and you’re eating it.” He picked up his groceries and made for the kitchen, adding as an afterthought over his shoulder, “That goes for you too, Cloud.” 

“Yes, Sir,” said the lump on the floor. Angeal nodded, satisfied. No sense letting the other two wreck the boy’s health with their odd eating habits. 

Zack watched Angeal go and ducked back under the covers to curl up with Cloud. “You got room for stew?”

Cloud’s mouth puckered. “I don’t know. Maybe if it’s really good stew.”

Zack grinned. “We’re in luck. Angeal’s stew is awesome!”

Cloud looked uncertain. “What kind of stew?”

“Lamb and veggies, usually.” Zack noted Cloud’s downcast expression and the slight greenish tint to his face. Well, it looked like Angeal was right about this kind of thing after all. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” He reached out to rub Cloud’s arm. “Angeal can chop fast but he likes to really slow-cook his stew. It’ll take at least two hours. You’ll be ready to eat a little by dinner time, right?”

Cloud smiled slightly. “Yeah, I can do that. Snack time just makes up for lunchtime in the cafeteria. I’ll be okay.” He rolled over, looking a little uncomfortable. “I might just have to lie here a while though.” 

Zack bent down and kissed Cloud’s forehead. “I’m right here.” Cloud smiled. 

-.-.-

Angeal was dicing carrots when Genesis went in to not check on him. Genesis had never even come close to mastering the art of nonchalantly ignoring Angeal, could never _not_ be aware of his childhood friend. There was a stiffness in Genesis’s limbs and little more flourish than normal to his movements. Angeal took note and waited. 

Genesis said nothing, of course, pretending that he was outrageously thirsty as an excuse to linger in the kitchen with a tall drink of water. Angeal cleared the cutting board into a waiting bowl and started on another carrot. If he wanted to talk he knew he would have to make the first move.

“Looks like you got the walls repaired quickly,” he said, slicing gently so the knife would make only the slightest click against the cutting board.

“I talked to Chevy in maintenance,” Genesis said half into his glass. “They handle all the SOLDIER collateral damage in the building anyway.”

“They did a great job.”

“I did the painting,” Genesis put in, eyes on Angeal for the reaction. 

Angeal looked up with a small smile. “Looks neat,” he said and kept on dicing. Genesis frowned and hid behind the fridge door, pretending to search it. Angeal figured that Genesis had probably wanted a little more shock and awe. Too bad. Angeal knew better than to break out the full-scale grovelling right away. Genesis would get a swelled head and be utterly insufferable if given his way in everything. 

Genesis straightened suddenly, as if sensing thoughts about him in the ether. Some distant, almost haunted expression flickered across his face. He shut the fridge door and grabbed a knife. Angeal looked up. “Gen?”

Genesis pulled out a chair and set himself down. “Pass me a potato.” Angeal did, but not without an appraising look. Genesis knew how to peel potatoes well enough – they had all been rookies once – but household duties were low on his list of priorities. Genesis got right down to business without a word. Angeal had to appreciate the skill.

“I think you’ve gotten better at this,” Angeal said.

“Practice,” Genesis said, for once not preening under praise.

Angeal’s knife thunked on the cutting board and two carrot cubes tumbled off onto his lap. “You mean it’s not just pancakes you make?”

Genesis shrugged and nibbled at a dry spot on his lower lip. “Cloud needs to eat. He doesn’t like the places I order from.” 

Angeal smirked. “That’s sensible. Eating food like that all the time will kill you.”

“I burn it off,” Genesis said, brushing hair out his eyes with the back of one hand. “Besides, fatty sauces make me feel good.”

Angeal had to give him that. Everyone had a different taste of home. “You do cook balanced meals for him, right?”

“Yes, Angeal, we make sure he eats his vegetables.” Genesis rolled his eyes. “We serve a salad with every meal and make sure he gets a glass of milk in the morning.”

“Hmm,” was all Angeal could say. He… had not expected that, to be honest. Neither Sephiroth nor Genesis had ever seemed inclined to take proper care of a goldfish. Maybe having their self-appointed mother-hen leave them be for a stretch was just what they needed to start picking up after themselves properly. Angeal chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Genesis wanted to know. 

“I’m wondering where cupcakes fit into your food pyramid.” 

Genesis snorted. “The whole bottom row, obviously. The next tier up is chicken wings with blue cheese dressing.” Angeal made to say something but Genesis cut him off. “I don’t let him eat like that every day. It was special circumstances.”

“Oh?” Angeal started on the peas, sampling a few fresh from the pod. “What would those circumstances be?”

“Our fucking couch is wrecked,” Genesis said, “so we had no couch to fuck on.” Angeal choked. Genesis smirked. 

Angeal refused to pound his chest, shaking his head vigorously till the sensation passed. He took a few deep breaths and began slicing studiously. “I suppose you got your money’s worth out of that couch after all.”

“Don’t be jealous just because you’re too big for it.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“No,” Genesis said, sounding tired, “I don’t suppose you ever are.” There was more there and Angeal wanted to know it, but he knew when a topic was done with Genesis too. At least they had talked about something. 

Angeal rose, ready to start on the meat. It had been sitting in a bowl, drenched in a homemade spice marinade, his mother’s recipe. Time for braising. “Is the furniture shopping going well?”

Genesis groaned and stared at the ceiling. “Well enough.”

“Costing you an arm and a leg, is it?”

“Something should.” Genesis tapped one foot. “We’re never home long enough to really spend anything.” He brought the vegetables over to the giant stew pot and stared hard at what Angeal was doing. That was new. Angeal angled away to give Genesis a better view. 

“Doesn’t mean you have to blow it all in one place, Gen.” Angeal _knew_ in his head that money wasn’t a problem at their rank, and had never been a problem for Genesis at all, but a man’s upbringing had a way of sticking to him. “Does it really make sense to spend that much on things SOLDIERs might just break anyway?”

“The idea was that if we have nice things we might take better care of them, Angeal,” Genesis said. “It was working just fine until recently.” Angeal cringed inside before registering the surprising lack of fire. Maybe Genesis was cooling. He could always steam back up again before the end, but once he actually got there all was usually well. 

“It’s sensible,” Angeal allowed. He could not let the silence stretch out too long. “You be kind to your things, they’ll be kind to you, or so my mother says.”

“How is Gillian?” Genesis asked.

“Same as ever, thanks.” Angeal knew better than to bother asking about Genesis’s parents. “Gen?”

“Yes?”

“Things… are being kind to you, right?” Angeal held his breath waiting for the answer.

“I don’t have things anymore, Angeal,” Genesis replied in a rare fit of the obtuse. “You cut them all up, remember?”

“Not _all_ of them,” Angeal tried again but then light flooded the hallway and someone entered the apartment.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud’s voice carried into the kitchen. “You’re home!” 

“Yes, Cloud,” they heard Sephiroth say, and both headed out to greet him, Angeal with spoon in hand.

They found Sephiroth standing in the entrance with a blond boy hanging around his neck. “Let me get my boots off first, Cloud,” Sephiroth was saying. 

Cloud dropped to the floor. “Sorry. I’m just glad you’re back.” Sephiroth smiled with his eyes through silver bangs, though he was clearly tired. 

“How’d it go?” Genesis asked, leaning in the kitchen doorway, completely blocking Angeal’s exit. 

“The sea serpent was no trouble,” Sephiroth said, staring off at some indeterminable point in the distance. “But there was PR afterwards.”

Everyone grimaced and Cloud reached out to give Sephiroth a small backrub. “Threw you to the wolves, did they?” Genesis said, shaking his head. “They really should just let me do it. The camera _loves_ me.”

“Not half as much as you love it,” Angeal muttered. Genesis pretended not to hear. Angeal took it as a good sign. 

Genesis watched Cloud practically climb his way up into Sephiroth’s arms. “Let’s go finish dinner, Angeal,” he said, turning away. “These two could do with some alone time and you’ve got a pot on the stove.”

Angeal was a little more reluctant to let the couple get out of sight. He stood in the doorway, watching as Sephiroth walked into the livingroom with Cloud wrapped around him like a hungry squid. Sephiroth was clearly tired, it was written all over his face, but he spared a kind word for the puppy shyly burrowing under the pillows before slumping into his chair. The blond boy settled into Sephiroth’s lap with no trouble, bouncing a little, probably from all the sugar. 

“Sir?” Zack asked, emerging from the pillows. “Would you like the remote?”

“No,” Sephiroth said. Angeal nearly dropped his spoon. He watched as Cloud snuggled in against Sephiroth, eyes even brighter than before. Sephiroth’s soft gaze would stay with Angeal a long time.


	19. Entertaining the Troops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack and Cloud test out the new couch. A very special home movie helps.

“Whoa!”

“Zack, why’d you st- Whoa!”

Zack and Cloud stood slack-jawed in the doorway and stared. Zack unlocked his legs first, taking a hesitant step into the living room. “That,” he said, almost drooling, “is a sexy couch.”

“Very Gen,” Cloud said, head cocked and slightly awestruck. “It’s perfect.” They came to a stop about a foot away, unable to bring themselves to penetrate the aura of elegant _newness_ surrounding the latest addition to the house.

“He had mentioned wanting leather this time,” Cloud said, sizing up the perfect color and sheen. 

“Goes better with Seph’s chair now.” Zack nodded. They circled around and stared some more. Zack nudged Cloud. “Well, you gonna sit on it or what?”

“Me?” Cloud would pretend later that he had not squeaked. “The thing’s brand new.”

“Yeah, and it’s a couch. It’s made for sitting!” Zack gestured towards one cushion with dramatic flourish and an infomercial grin. “Come on, Cloud. How can you resist this fine leather? Such generous padding? This, my friend, is the seat of a king, made to grace none but the most royal of asses!”

“Then you sit on it,” Cloud said, sticking out his tongue. 

“Hey!” Zack made a playful swipe at Cloud, who ducked and stumbled within a foot of the couch’s perimeter. “Whoa, careful, Cloud!”

“I’m fine.” Cloud said, but he stayed on the floor, still staring. Under Zack’s eyes, he leaned slowly forward till his nose nearly touched the seat. 

“Cloud?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing?”

“It smells new,” Cloud said, so close to the thing that Zack was sure the kid had to be looking at it cross-eyed. 

Zack stooped down next to him and zoomed in for a good look of his own. He didn’t need to get that close. He was already a SOLDIER. But he had company. “It looks soft,” he said. “Soft as butter, I bet.”

Cloud pulled back a little. “Yeah,” he said. “That would be so like Gen.” 

Zack stared back and forth from the couch to Sephiroth’s overstuffed armchair in the corner. Sephiroth’s chair had been an eyecatcher, but next to the shining flawlessness of the new couch it had a certain quality about it of being a little bit used. “You think Sephiroth will want to upgrade his chair too?”

“Nah.” Cloud shook his head. “He’s attached to it and it’s not the looks he cares about. He’d sooner buy a bigger TV if anything.” Cloud bent his head in closer to General Rhapsodos’s new, black leather couch. Slowly, he moved, so slowly, balancing on his knees, playing chicken with gravity. 

“Oh, just touch it already, Cloud,” Zack cut in. “You know you want to.”

“But Gen gets first dibs,” Cloud protested, or at least pretended to. “If you want it sat on so badly, why don’t you sit on it?”

Zack scratched his head. “I could. I mean, I’d like to, I guess. It looks wonderful.”

“It does.” Cloud sighed. His face took that melancholy turn that made Zack want to scoop him up and cuddle him close until everything was all better. Then, suddenly, the sad little orphan chocobo face turned devilish. 

“Uh-oh.” Zack leaned back. “What are you thinking?”

Cloud turned to him. “Somebody had to deliver the couch, right? And somebody had to let them in.”

“Right.” Understanding dawned on Zack. “People don’t just get into SOLDIER apartments like that.”

“So Gen probably already touched it!” 

“Yes!” Zack cheered and high-fived Cloud. “So, we’re sitting then?”

“You bet!” Cloud frowned. “Who first?”

“We can do it together!” Zack bounced to his feet. “You ready?”

“Just a sec. Okay, yeah.” Cloud grinned up at Zack, who grinned back, in a sense. The way Cloud was wriggling in preparation had a way of drawing the eye. 

Zack shook himself back to the matter at hand. “On three, okay?” Cloud nodded. “Okay, one!”

“Wait, wait,” Cloud stopped him. “Is it sit on ‘three’ or ‘three’ then sit?”

“Uh… ‘Three’ then sit?” Zack said, going for the easiest thing to say. 

“Okay,” Cloud said, already half-crouched. “One.”

“Two,” Zack continued. 

“Three!” They sat.

For a long time, nothing moved. No one spoke. Zack could hear Cloud breathing. The clock in the kitchen marked the minutes in soft clicks. Zack let his head roll to the side. Cloud sat very still, limp in the cushions, eyes shut and a sweet smile on his lips. “Cloud,” Zack whispered.

“Yes,” Cloud whispered back.

“Is this Heaven?”

“I think so.” They waited some more.

“Cloud?”

“Yes, Zack?”

“Now what?”

Cloud’s eyes fluttered open. “Huh?” 

Zack would have leaned forward but he couldn’t bring himself to part ways with the welcoming softness of the couch just yet. “Should we do something?”

“Like what?” Cloud sounded dreamy, almost asleep.

“I dunno,” Zack said. “What do people usually do on couches?”

Cloud snickered. “I know what _Genesis_ does on couches.”

“Uh, maybe we should the real breaking-in to Gen,” Zack said. “We’re just… testing it out.”

“Yeah.” Cloud wriggled further into his spot, making soft noises that made Zack’s pores raise. Cloud stopped wriggling when Zack didn’t say anything. “What?”

Zack swallowed. “How ‘bout we watch some TV?”

Cloud shrugged. “Sure. Get the remote and find something.”

“Okay.” Zack sat up a little, then turned back frowning. “Hey, why do I have to get up and get the remote?”

“Because I’m not moving from this seat unless something really important comes up,” Cloud informed him smugly. 

Zack blew his bangs out of his eyes. “Yeah, you keep working that spoiled little brat act while you can, Cloud. It won’t work forever.”

Cloud yawned. “I won’t need it forever,” he said. “Find a show or something.”

“Fussy, fussy,” Zack murmured, stretching out as far as he could across the coffee table without letting his rump slide completely off the couch. His fingers splayed until he grimaced with the effort but eventually he hooked a fingernail in a groove and pulled the remote in. “Lessee, cooking show, nope, sports package, nope, fashion tips, nope. Old zombie flick?”

“Nope,” said Cloud, eyes closed.

“You’re not even looking!” Zack protested.

“I’m listening,” Cloud insisted. Zack sighed and kept on clicking.

“Damn, there really is nothing on,” he complained. “Now what?”

Cloud sat up ever so slightly. “We could watch a movie.” He made a halfhearted wave at the shelves. “Pick something.” Then he shut his eyes and turned to his side, rubbing his cheek into buttery soft leather. Zack stared for a moment, toying with the idea of just watching Cloud instead, but quiet never did suit Zack for long. He itched for something to do. He rose from the couch with a small sound of regret and went to pick something out. 

The selection was dismal. Genesis’s touch was heavily evident. Old films, high-brow classics that Zack had no interest in filled the shelves. Every adaptation of ‘Loveless’ that had ever been committed to film or disk had a place there, even a few that looked rather less than legal. Zack scanned the shelves, going past old sitcom boxed sets and rather isolated action flicks that he had no interest in. “Shiva’s frosty button nips,” he mumbled, “how can you have this many movies and not have anything to actually watch?” He bent down to get a look at the lower shelves.

Cloud must have had something to do with these. There was a whole ‘Shellrob Cubedance’ collection there, interspersed with other cartoons that had Zack lighting up. “Cool! Stone Guardians! I haven’t seen this since I was a kid!”

“You are a kid,” Cloud mumbled, “when you’re not being a dog.” Zack barked and made a very communicative doggy grunt, rubbing his chin against a shoulder. Cloud opened one eye, turning half over to take a look. “Are you itchy? What are you doing?”

“This,” Zack announced, “is me disdainfully licking my doggy butt at you. I mean, you know, that’s what I’d be doing if I could actually reach my butt, maybe.”

Cloud snorted. “You’re weird, Zack.”

“Says the guy who has a chocobo bridle with his name on it in the toy chest,” Zack countered. 

Cloud hid his smile in the couch. “Okay, we’re both weird.” He nuzzled further into the couch and looked about ready to settle in and sleep. 

Zack slid to the floor watching him, trying to pry the disk out of its case. His eyes fell on the lowest shelf while his fingers struggled with their work. “What is this stuff, more bootlegs?” The labels were rather plain and obviously home-printed, if on a quality machine. The titles were not anything Zack had ever heard of before, things like ‘Interrogation 4’, ‘Rope Art 7’ and ‘Training Little Bird to Sing’. “What’re these about?” Zack said, more to himself than anything since Cloud was drifting off to sleep. “Royal Treasure,” he read, pulling one out. “What’s this, some kind of adventure show? I could go for that.”

The disk inside was definitely a home job. Zack shrugged and slid it into the tray anyway. He grabbed the remote and bounded back to the couch in time for the title screen to come up. It was a no-frills affair, just text on some random forest background that didn’t give Zack a clue what he was in for. He shrugged and pressed ‘play’. 

What he got was some slightly shaky camera action in the midst of a woods. Looked like some sort of low budget indie flick, but sometimes those were surprising so Zack kept watching. He wasn’t disappointed. The camera panned from sunny glade to a broad path in the trees, where, to the accompaniment of little birds sweetly singing, an angel-faced young man in a pale blue noble’s costume walked shyly into the woods. Zack’s mouth fell open. “Holy Hades on a hot stick of hardwood! Cloud, you didn’t tell me this was a home movie!”

“Huh?” Cloud roused from his half-sleep and blinked at the screen. “Oh, Gaia, turn that off!” He lunged for the remote.

“No way!” Zack expertly held him off, SOLDIER strength and good old Fair stubbornness hard at work. “I want to see!”

“Za-ack!” Cloud whined. “Take it off! That’s embarrassing!”

“But you look so good in doublet and hose,” Zack teased, holding the remote out of reach. “What are you supposed to be, a prince or something?”

“Something,” Cloud mumbled. Genesis was on screen now, wearing a rather impressive set of armor. Cloud-on-the-couch groaned and buried his face in his hands. 

Zack whistled. “You guys went all out for this!”

Cloud sighed. “Gen feels… _creative_ sometimes.”

“Creative, huh?” Zack wished he had popcorn. “Pretty good production values for a home movie. You all shot on location.”

“Yeah,” Cloud said, slumping over the arm rest. “In some woods by the mountains near Fort Condor. Gen was planning it forever until we all had a free weekend.”

On screen, Genesis the Obviously Dashing Knight hovered protectively over his royal charge. Prince Cloud, sapphire-studded circlet slightly askew, skipped from tree to tree following little woodland creatures, the very image of fairytale innocence. _“Don’t go too far, your Highness,”_ Genesis cautioned.

_“I won’t!”_ the prince called, dashing into the woods. Zack glanced at Cloud. The smile on the camera had seemed real enough. Maybe Cloud had more fun with Genesis’s dress-up games than he wanted to admit. 

A shadow fell across the screen, prelude to the entrance of something Zack knew would be ominous. Sephiroth entered, haughty, imperious and dressed to kill. Next to the fur-edged cloak of heavy velvet and the dark silk clothes shot through with silver threads, Genesis’s simple leathers appeared downright shabby. 

_“You coddle our young prince, Sir Geneve,”_ Sephiroth warned, not sounding much different that usual._ “He’s too old for a nursemaid.”_

_“And too young for battle, your Grace,”_ Sir Geneve said, turning with a respectful wariness in his eyes. _“His safety is my charge and I do no more than my duty by staying at his side.”_

_“One might wonder if it is only duty that keeps you so close to our prince’s side.”_ Sephiroth said, walking past the lowly knight. He stared down the path after the prince. _“A sapling will not grow in the shade of a large tree.”_

_“Have you suggestions, then, for improving his tutelage, your Grace?”_

_“I might,” _Sephiroth answered. The knight bowed his head in a show of respect, but said nothing.

“Ooh, this is good!” Zack said. “Nobody would ever believe this!”

“So don’t tell anybody, please,” Cloud grunted.

“What,” Zack teased, “you don’t want anybody knowing how good you look in tights?” 

Cloud sighed. “I guess I should count myself lucky. Gen wrote the script with a princess the first time around.” 

Zack snorted. “You’d have rocked the frills, chickabo! Man, now I kinda want some popcorn.” Cloud expressly did not take the hint. 

The scene changed, cutting to somewhere deeper in the woods. It was darker here and the prince’s moon bright clothing stood out against moldering bark. He appeared to be following some sort of little creature, a chipmunk, perhaps, or a squirrel. Zack smiled at the screen because Cloud was clearly having fun.

_“Come on, little thing,”_ the prince coaxed. _“I have food. Would you like some?”_ He ducked low, peering into a conveniently hollow fallen tree trunk. _“Come on, I’m not going to hurt you.”_ Heedless of the task he was preparing for the no doubt countless servants dedicated entirely to the royal laundry, the prince dove in, circlet flying off into the grass. He rattled around inside the trunk, shaking it around a little.

Actually, Zack realized, most of the shaking was the camera. 

_“Seph,”_ Genesis warned in a stage whisper, _“stop laughing and hold that thing steady.”_

_“I can’t help it,”_ Sephiroth said, not even bothering to keep it quiet. _“He’s cute like this.”_ Zack snickered on the couch while Cloud rolled his eyes. 

_“For the love of- Oh, just give me that! There’s a reason we brought the tripod,”_ they heard Genesis say. The camera spun for a moment, then steadied. _“Go do your lines,”_ Genesis prompted. Sephiroth’s snort was audible. 

“They could have edited the sound a little, maybe,” Zack commented. 

Cloud hit him with a withering look. “Zack, nobody watches this for the plot.”

Dark gloved hands retrieved a slender gold circlet from the leaf litter and waited. The prince eventually made his way out of the log, rumpled, smudged and blinking at a pair of rather imposing boots. _“You should be more careful with this,”_ Sephiroth said, towering over the little prince as he offered the symbol of rank. 

_“Oh!”_ The prince looked away in that shy way Cloud had sometimes. _“I’ll be careful,”_ he said, reaching up. _“I promise.”_

But the dark lord lifted the small coronet out of reach. _“No need to trouble yourself overmuch with it, your Highness.”_ He sounded rather bored. _“I’m sure an adventurous young man such as yourself will someday happen upon a more fitting badge of rank than the one your grandmother gave you.”_

_“Really?”_ The prince emerged properly and dusted himself off. _“Like what?”_

_“Anything, really,”_ the nobleman replied, turning the prince’s slender circlet over to catch the dim light. 

_“More feeling!”_ Genesis prompted from off-camera. 

Sephiroth glared at him. _“One never knows,”_ he continued with a wooden voice and wicked eyes that made Genesis grumble, _“where a treasure worthy of a prince may be found. It could be in any fountain, hill or cave.”_

_“Even in the caves around here?”_ The prince looked interested now. Sephiroth’s dark smirk was not feigned.

_“Yes, my young prince,”_ he said, setting the coronet down on feathered blond hair, fingers lingering longer than they strictly had to. _“Even in the caves around here.”_

_“Your Highness!”_ Genesis called, still a little too close to the tripod to sound really distant. The knight came running in towards the prince. _“Your Highness, please don’t wander off like that.”_

_“I’m all right, Geneve,”_ the prince assured. _“The duke found me. I was never in any danger.”_

_“Just a boy’s healthy curiosity, Sir Geneve,”_ the duke said, gripping the prince's slender shoulder with one hand. _“He needs to find his place in the world as all young men do.” _

Sir Geneve frowned for a moment before wiping the expression from his face. There was still tension there in the corners of his eyes, the tightening of his lips. _“His place is at the head of the kingdom, your Grace,”_ Sir Geneve said in a tone just shy of a warning. _“He will find himself where he needs to be soon enough.”_

“He’s good,” Zack commented and Cloud agreed, though he thought the lines were cheesy as hell. 

_“I’m certain he will,”_ the Duke replied, unmoved. Sir Geneve convinced the prince to return home for the day and they made their leave. Sephiroth watched them go until Genesis rounded the tripod and turned the camera off.

The scene shifted. It was evening and the prince was making his escape. He wrapped a dark cloak around himself for cover and crept out of camp, ducking between a pair of sleeping chocobos as the shadow of a watchman went by. One of the chocobos opened an eye at him, fluffed itself slightly and began to preen him. _“Ow, Birdie, cut it out!”_

Someone made a chocobo trainer’s tongue cluck off camera. _“Birdie, stop it, he is not your chick,”_ Sephiroth whispered.

_“Your turkey is ruining our shot, Seph,”_ Genesis complained.

_“Then turn the camera off.”_

Zack burst out laughing so hard he slid right out of his seat. “Dude,” he wheezed, pulling himself back up. “I thought I was the only one that happened to.”

Cloud was laughing too now, sprawled on his stomach and happy, if a little pink in the face. “Yeah, Birdie gets maternal sometimes.”

“Sephiroth really named his chocobo ‘Birdie’?”

Cloud shrugged. “He said he didn’t know what else to call a bird.”

The prince was entering some caves now, most likely the same ones that lay in the mountain range beyond the woods. Drawing his heavy cloak around him, he touched the small bracelet on his arm. The fire materia there was very weak, no more than a child’s practice bauble, but it flickered enough to light the way. 

At first the young prince was happy enough, skipping from ledge to ledge inside the cavern, exploring tunnel entrances for any sign of treasure, rippling his reflection in the shallow cave pools and startling lagging bats with his laughter. Then he turned down on far tunnel in particular, going further than he had before. He glanced back now and then, as if checking that the camera was still there. 

Cloud drew closer to Zack on the couch, rubbing his cheek against Zack’s leg. Zack stared down, startled. This was something he did with Angeal, not something someone did with him. But then, he had wanted someone to, hadn’t he? He had wanted Cloud to, and now Cloud was. Zack smiled and slid his fingers into Cloud’s bright hair. 

_“By… Gaia,”_ the prince gasped. The caves were full of light, shining with the living glow of mako in the stone, coursing a slow path through solid rock since ages past. The prince was less hesitant now, moving forward eagerly, but still there was a reverence in his gaze. 

“I’d never seen anything like that,” Cloud was saying. “We have a mako fountain in Mt. Nibel but nothing like that.” Zack smiled at Cloud and stroked his back. So the prince’s wondrous smile was real. Zack had to thank Genesis for capturing that. 

There was a stone dais some way in, raised from fallen rock by people long gone. The prince approached, hopeful and hopelessly naïve. There was no treasure there. The prince pouted down at the stone, thoroughly disappointed. 

A shadow fell across his back. He turned, startled and quivering like a bird. _“Duke Eimhard!”_ he chirped, falling back against the stone. _“How did you find me?”_

_“I saw you sneaking away, little prince,”_ the Duke said, towering over the fair young man. _“You must know that just won’t do, your Highness.”_

The prince looked away. _“I’m sorry, I just… I was looking for treasure.”_

_“Treasure,”_ the Duke repeated.

_“Yes.”_ The prince nodded. _“But there’s no treasure here.”_

Duke Eimhard’s smile grew dark and sinister. _“That’s where you’re wrong, my little prince,”_ he said, leaning over the young man, who had sense enough to lean away though there was nowhere to go. _“There is a treasure here and I’m getting to it first.”_ He pounced.

“Oh, Goddess!” Zack sat up. 

“It’s okay, Zack,” Cloud said. He rubbed Zack’s knee and kissed it through Zack’s pants. “It’s only roleplay. We do it all the time.”

“But he’s being so rough,” Zack squeaked. The duke had the struggling prince pinned to the dais now and was tearing at his clothes. 

“I know,” Cloud said. His voice dropped husky and low. “He’s a beast.”

Zack swallowed and shifted. On screen, more of the prince’s pale skin was being exposed by the second. The young man struggled but it was a one-sided fight. The duke was larger, stronger, more experienced by far. The prince begged him to stop, hit him, kicked at him, tried to scratch the man’s eyes out and gained only a large hand around his neck for the trouble while the duke unlaced his own breeches.

_“Is this what it will take to train you, pet?”_ Poison dripped from every word.

The prince gasped for breath, pleading with wide, betrayed eyes but there was no mercy for him there. The Duke released him only to slam him down properly on the stone, not even waiting for the boy to stop choking to pull his limbs into position. With a final vicious grin, the Duke thrust in. The prince’s scream echoed through the chamber and was joined by many more. 

Zack gripped the armrest with one hand and Cloud’s hair in the other. Something was coiling and twisting inside him and he didn’t like that he liked it. He looked down at Cloud. The boy was tense and alert, eyes on the screen and barely blinking. Cloud petted Zack’s knee with one hand and kept up a rhythmic nervous twitching with the rest of his body. 

No, not twitching. Shaking. Jerking. When Zack looked, it seemed to be centered specifically on Cloud’s hips, half-turned into the couch to hide and stimulate a growing erection. The realization that Cloud was turned on by all this shot through Zack like lightning. Suddenly he needed a little helping hand too. “You like this kind of thing, Cloud?” 

Cloud looked up. His cheeks were flushed and he was breathing was growing unsteady. “Yeah. You?”

Zack gulped. Certain things he did not want to hear out loud. It would be a confirmation and he wasn’t sure he was ready. “It- It looks painful,” he said, eyes on the screen.

Cloud smiled slyly and bit Zack’s thigh. “It was good pain.”

Duke Eimhard had prepared thoroughly for his game. Though he apparently couldn’t bring himself to actually kill royalty (something Zack was sure _Sephiroth_ would never have trouble with), he had no qualms about breaking the boy. After the first brutal attack, while the prince sat huddled against the raised dais, naked, shivering, with seed dripping down his legs, the duke brought him a little present, a ‘fitting badge of rank’, he called it. Before the prince could think of protesting, a heavy metal collar had closed around his throat. The boy’s head sank, weighed down by more than metal. Then his training began. 

The duke did things to him that were hairs away from torture, forcing the boy to learn the ways of pleasuring another while giving him nothing but pain. The prince learned how to swallow and how to spread. He was chained down and whipped for the slightest infraction. By day his collar was chained to a rock so large he had no hope of moving it. By night he was used and abused until the duke had had his fill. 

Zack twisted in his seat and tried to pull Cloud in closer. Cloud was unabashedly humping the cushions now, making little strangled cries that echoed the ones coming from the speakers. Zack hadn’t considered the possibility of being turned on by the sight of one’s own naked body, but Cloud did have a very nice one, delicate-looking and flexible. 

And then there was Sephiroth. Zack hadn’t had a chance to see the man in action yet, so to speak, and even far away in dubiously-lit homemade porn the sight was incredible. The man radiated power and danger and wielded both with expertise. The way his back arched over Cloud’s little form made Zack’s mouth go dry. When he thrust, muscles of his thighs and ass clenching with the effort, Zack badly wanted to remove his pants. 

“I never thought I’d say this about the General,” he started, voice gone raspy, “but he makes a really good bad guy.” Cloud chuckled. 

The prince tired of his torture soon enough. After the initial shock had passed something sparked in him. One night while the duke rutted above him, he reached out and stole one of the man’s knives. Alas, inexperienced and not knowing the value of patience, he moved too soon, trying to strike the man immediately. The blow that came for that made even Zack’s ears ring, (“He hit the rock, not me.”) and the prince was hauled away to a hole in the mountain where the mako did not shine. 

The boy’s pleading was frantic and desperate as he was bound rigidly with silken cord. Duke Eimhard hoisted him up, suspended him from the craggy cave ceiling and left him there like a fly in a web, in the dark, begging for forgiveness. The sound cut off very quickly. Cloud sighed.

Zack blinked. “What happened? Camera malfunction?”

Cloud shook his head. “They had to stop recording to cut me down. I was freaking out.” He glanced upwards at Zack, looking more like a child than ever. “It was really dark in there.” Zack petted him lightly. It happened that way sometimes, SOLDIERs taking what they could do for granted. 

Some time had passed when the prince was next seen again. He still wore his metal collar. He still waited naked for his Master to appear. But he was tired now, all the fight gone out of him. There were tracks of hard use on his skin, marks of teeth and rope and the lash. He sat, thighs splayed, on display like a doll with eyes almost as empty and waited. 

The duke entered and pulled the numb prince into his lap. The boy was limp, yielding and completely unresponsive in every sense but one. The duke used gloved hands to work the boy to a climax and then sat back, admiring his handiwork. 

_“You bastard!”_

The duke looked up. His frown gave way to a smug grin. _“Sir Geneve,”_ he taunted. _“What brings you out here today?”_

Sir Geneve raised one hand, revealing a slender gold circlet studded with sapphires. _“You’ll pay in blood for this!”_

Duke Eimhard tossed the prince aside and took up his sword. _“Make me!”_ he roared. What followed was a battle a camera on a tripod had no hope of keeping up with but for the sake of the finished product, they quickly remembered to tone it down and keep it confined to a limited area. 

Sir Geneve fought with earnest desperation, the anger on his face a counterpoint to Eimhard’s gloating. The prince closed his eyes and took a nap. Eimhard made a bold slash and nicked Geneve’s arm. Geneve’s anger drained, replaced with something cold and deadly. The battle continued with twice the fury. Finally, in a painfully obvious move, Eimhard left an opening and Geneve ‘stabbed’ him in the chest. 

Eimhard staggered back. Then forward. Then back again. _“Stop milking it,”_ Genesis hissed.

_“It’s my last scene,”_ Sephiroth mumbled. The prince snickered and then looked suitably catatonic again. 

Eimhard collapsed face first in a pool of water. Geneve cut the crest from the man’s clothing as proof and hurried to retrieve his prince. 

_“Your Highness,”_ he called. The prince did not stir. _“Prince Imri?”_

The prince blinked once, slowly. His lips moved with no sound at first and Geneve had to bend his head to hear. _“Not anymore.”_

Geneve searched around until he found a cloak, the same one Prince Imri had worn on the night he went out and had not returned. He wrapped his prince in it and heavyhearted, took him from that place. 

Night had fallen by the time they emerged from the caves. Geneve’s bird, Minerva, waited at the entrance. Geneve mounted carefully, cradling the prince against his chest and slowly made for home, trails of tears glistening down his face. 

Zack’s eyebrows rose. “Hey, is he actually crying on cue? Damn, he’s good!”

Cloud scoffed. “It was only because by then his balls were navy blue.”

Prince Imri did not react at first, locked away inside his head, but as Minerva neared the forest path that would take them back home he became more agitated. _“No,”_ he whispered. _“No!”_

_“Your Highness, please,”_ Sir Geneve pleaded. _“I’m taking you home. The whole kingdom wants its prince back.”_

_“No.”_ The prince squirmed in the saddle, close to slipping out. _“Not like this. Dirty.”_

_“What? You’re not dirty!”_ Geneve’s hands slackened from the shock and the prince slipped free. He fell to the ground and shivered there in a little ball. As soon as Geneve made to retrieve him, Prince Imri got up and ran. _“Your Highness!”_ Geneve called. _“Imri!”_

He found the prince at a river’s edge, naked under the moon, staring up at the sky. Geneve slowed to a halt under the trees and watched, anguish wracking his body at the sight of Imri’s marred body. _“Goddess help me,”_ he cried. _“I don’t know how to help him.”_

Water splashed as the prince walked in and kept on walking towards the strong current in the center with no signs of stopping. _“Imri, no!”_ Geneve lunged forward and plunged into the water, grasping the prince about the chest. _“Don’t do this!”_

_“Have to,”_ the prince said, eyes dull and worn. _“To get clean.”_

Geneve’s arms slipped from the prince’s small body. Imri resumed his walking. _“Wait.”_ The knight reached out, grabbing Imri by one rope-burned wrist. _“Let me clean you.”_ The prince stopped walking. 

Geneve scooped him out of the current and carried him back to the riverbank. _“Stay here,”_ he instructed and pulled himself out of the water to retrieve some things from Minerva’s saddlebags. Prince Imri was still in place when he returned. Geneve offered a smile he did not really feel and held up a set of slender tools. _“Let’s see if we can get this off,”_ he said, reaching for the collar. 

The prince reared back a little, but a spark of hope glinted in his eyes. He blinked carefully, then tilted his head back, baring his throat with distressing ease. Geneve tried not to mind, working quickly in dim light. 

It took a little longer than was movie-seemly and Zack noticed that Cloud had stopped rutting into the couch. “Dull moment?” he asked.

Cloud swung his feet a little. “It gets better.”

The collar snapped open with an audible click. Geneve opened it carefully and drew it away. The prince almost seemed to straighten without the weight of it. Geneve tossed the thing away. _“Here,”_ he said. _“Let me clean you.”_ He brought soap and a towel and began to lather up a washcloth. 

“Did they have washcloths back then?” Zack asked. “Did they _use_ washcloths? I don’t think they were big on bathing in those days.” 

“Hush.” 

Geneve set his prince down on a large rock and stood out of sight to strip down to his underclothes. Then, with a careful approach, he stepped into the water and began to wash his prince. He started with the prince’s throat, soothing chafed skin with cool water. He used long, slow strokes, struggling to hide his pain at the marks his inspection revealed. He was thorough and tender throughout, cupping water in his palms to rinse the prince’s hair back to golden brightness. The prince submitted without protest. 

_“There now,”_ Geneve said, stepping back. _“You’re clean now. Come home with me, your Highness.”_

Prince Imri stood and walked away, still unsteady on his feet. He looked down at himself, at the bruises and the marks, then wrapped his arms around himself and began to cry. _“Please, no,”_ he said and Geneve was at his side before he could say anymore. 

_“I can fix this too, your Highness. Please let me.”_ He retrieved a potion from his belt and held it out to the prince. _“Please, drink it.”_

Conditioned into obedient submission, Imri nuzzled Geneve’s fingers until the knight tilted the small vial and fed the liquid to prince. A small shudder wracked Imri’s body and he collapsed against Geneve’s chest, seeking warmth. 

The knight brought hesitant arms up around him. _“There. Are you ready to come home now?”_ The prince looked up and, going on tiptoe, tried to pull Geneve’s lips down for a kiss. _“Your Highness, no!”_ Geneve shoved the prince away. _“What are you doing?”_

Imri broke out of Geneve’s grip and headed back to the water. _“If you of all people don’t want me, nobody else will.”_

_“What are you talking about? Of course they’ll want you. You’re their Prince Imri.”_

The boy shook his head, looking so tired. _“No. He’s gone, that one. I’m something else.”_ He wrapped his arms around himself against the chill. 

_“They’ll love you the same,”_ Geneve said. 

_“Do you?”_

It was wrong and too soon and on some level it was taking advantage, but Geneve couldn’t fight it anymore. If that was what his prince needed, he would serve. He reached out and embraced the boy and drew him down into the grass. 

He was as gentle as he had been with the bathing, soothing Imri’s skin with fingers and lips, making the act no less than one of tender worship. Geneve kissed his way down Imri’s flat stomach and played with the thatch of curls between his thighs. The touch of Geneve’s tongue made the boy gasp. “Gen!”

_“It’s alright,”_ Geneve soothed. _“It won’t hurt.”_ And he swallowed the prince down, working him slowly to sweet release. 

“Oh, gaia,” Zack groaned. Cloud laughed and reached over to get at Zack’s belts. “Hey, what are you doing, Cloud?”

“Helping you out, obviously.” Cloud was smirking rather obviously, though Zack could see the slow, sweet sex on screen was having the same effect on him. Cloud slid down and reached into Zack’s shorts.

“Cloud,” Zack protested, “you’re going to miss all the action.”

“No, I’m not,” Cloud said. “I was there, remember?” 

Zack choked off a cry. “I thought you said you weren’t leaving your seat.”

Cloud shrugged. “Something important came up.” His tongue darted out and he began to lick. 

“Shit!” Zack couldn’t watch Cloud when he was like this. It made him go off like a bottle rocket, a total embarrassment. 

Prince Imri shuddered and spilled into Geneve’s mouth. Geneve licked him clean and tried to rise but Imri wouldn’t let him. _“Please,”_ he asked, _“love me.”_ And because Geneve had been harbouring desires to do exactly that for far too long, he did. 

They made a pretty, pale tangle in the dark. Geneve moved slowly and deeply into Imri, because after everything he had been through the prince did not have the strength for more. The little cries coming from his lips were real enough. _“Gen,”_ he cried. _“Gen,”_ over and over until he had no breath left for it. He arched upwards with a soft sound and surrendered himself to Geneve’s care. 

“Oh, Gaia,” Zack groaned. Cloud was keeping pace with Genesis’s movements on the screen and Zack knew he wouldn’t last much longer. It wasn’t enough though. He wanted more. He pulled Cloud up, moaning again at the sound of his cock slipping from Cloud’s mouth. 

“Zack, what are-”

“More, Cloud,” Zack growled. “Now!” 

Cloud grinned and prowled back up onto the couch. “If you say so, wolfie.”

Prince Imri woke in Geneve’s arms, looking lighter and brighter than he had before. Geneve hand-fed him a simple breakfast, stopping often to caress and reassure him. The large blue eyes were starting to recover some of their brightness. Geneve retrieved his spare clothing to dress the prince in. It was simple cloth and far too big but Imri seemed more comfortable in it than he had in any of his own finery. 

_“Are you ready?”_ Geneve asked. The prince nodded. He mounted Minerva, leaning back against his loyal knight and together they rode off to greet the dawn.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The living room was a mess and Angeal didn’t know what to make of it. “What the hell happened here?”

Sephiroth noticed the TV idling on a title screen obviously created on a cheap home video editor. “Genesis,” he called, “I think the boys got into your porn collection.”

“Did they now?” Genesis came in, stripping off his gloves. He took in the screen and the explosion of clothing scattered around his couch, which was ever so slightly not in the alignment he had placed it in. He grinned. “By the Goddess, I believe the new couch has been blessed!”


	20. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angeal tries to wait out Genesis's temper with a long, steadfast campaign.

Genesis slept in the middle of the bed. It had been that way since they were children. Genesis claimed it was because he did not sleep well without the mattress evenly balanced around him. Angeal suspected it was because Gen liked feeling like the lord and master over all the rest of the room. It wasn’t a problem so long as Angeal got to cuddle close.

But Genesis wasn’t sleeping in the middle of the bed these days. That spot had gone to Cloud. It made sense, in a way, Angeal reflected, watching the three lovers in Genesis’s oversized, overstuffed bed. With Cloud in the middle they could share him between them, or keep him safe, even if it was just from rolling off the bed. They looked comfortable that way, Cloud with an arm reaching across Sephiroth’s chest, and Genesis spooned around Cloud, smiling contentedly in his sleep. If he complained of poor sleep and a stiff back these days, Angeal didn’t hear a whisper of it. 

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow over the book he was reading. “Plenty of room,” he said and Angeal had to agree The bed was big enough for all of them. He would let the pup sleep next to Genesis for the time being.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Angeal,” Zack moaned, “stop twitching.”

“Sorry, pup.” Angeal turned over again and tried to settle. There really was no escaping it. “There’s a smell here keeps waking me up.”

Cloud’s scent. He wasn’t there that night but the fragrance of him lingered in Genesis’s bedding. It was not anything all that special, honestly. He smelled like well-soaped young man and Shinra issue shampoo, nothing out of the ordinary. But the scent had a way of giving up its shadow notes just as Angeal was sinking into sleep, something of fresh warm milk on a cold morning and a little white mountain flower Angeal had come across on a mission once. He grunted and tried to block it out.

Genesis turned over, grumpy from being woken. “If you don’t like how my sheets smell then do the laundry yourself.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“He’s still mad at me,” Angeal complained the next morning, frowning at his full shaving cream beard in the mirror. 

Sephiroth did not pause in his combing. “Have you had sex yet?”

Angeal put his razor down. “He won’t let me. I offered him a backrub when I saw him massaging his neck yesterday and he turned me down flat.”

“Hmm,” was all Sephiroth said. “He has been having headaches lately.”

“Headaches?” Angeal braced himself against the sink. 

Sephiroth nodded. “Quite a few. I was hoping he would let you kiss them better.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal came in with an offering of homemade bread, still hot from the oven. The scent didn’t draw Genesis out the way it usually did. The groans from the bedroom probably had something to do with that. 

Angeal hazarded a peak. Genesis was leaning back against the far wall with his hands in Zack’s hair, fucking the boy’s face. Genesis smiled at Angeal with undisguised spite. “Lucky, lucky, Angeal. His tongue’s as talented as I’ve heard.”

Angeal shut the door and made for the kitchen. “Headache, my ass,” he grumbled and sliced the bread all crooked.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Zack didn’t complain about the treatment he was getting. Far from it. He looked forward to going up to Genesis’s place for dinner every evening. He had taken to winding down on the big new couch after missions even though he had a perfectly good bed and a stack of comic books to do that at Angeal’s little apartment. Angeal figured the big screen TV had something to do with that. 

And the blankets. There were fleece blankets everywhere these days, big stacks of them. Zack liked nothing more than to strip down to his t-shirt and shorts, wrap himself up in blankets, and camp out in a nest on the couch, one hand emerging on occasion to change the channel.

“You all snug in there?” Angeal asked one evening when Zack had beat him up there. The pup was squirming under the blankets, making happy little puppy sounds, thoroughly cocooned in fleece. “Can you breathe in there?”

Black spikes poked out of a gap in the top, followed by wild, golden yellow ones. Two pairs of very blue eyes stared out. “We’re fine, Angeal,” Zack said.

“I see,” Angeal replied, and the two boys slithered back into their blanket ball and went back to their giggling.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

If nothing else, Cloud was easy on the eyes. Angeal had to admit that. It was almost as if Zack had a smaller, younger, very blond little brother. He had the hair, and blue eyes that would take well to mako. His face was perhaps a little more delicate. Cloud would never have the bulk that Zack was tending towards, and might not ever get the height either, but he was trim and lean and wouldn’t be altogether a bad sight once he’d put a little more meat on his bones. He was growing into himself well and his voice seemed to have finished breaking into a rather nice tenor. 

A pretty little package, all in all. For that alone it was easy to see why the others had gone for him. Why they had _kept_ him now, that was another matter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“I’m here,” Cloud called from the doorway. Angeal looked up as the boy peered into the kitchen. Cloud straightened, turning away slightly. “Good afternoon,” he said. 

Angeal nodded at him and continued slicing beets. “The others aren’t here yet. Gen might be late. He got sent on a quick run to Kalm this morning.” 

“Oh.” Cloud took it in stride though he refused to look at Angeal directly. “I’ll just clean up in the meantime, then.” He ducked out of sight and disappeared round the corner. After a moment Angeal heard the sounds of puttering around the bathroom. 

He hadn’t meant to pry, honest, and he really had no intention of walking in on whatever ‘cleaning up’ might involve, but he owed it to Sephiroth and Genesis at least to keep an eye on their little one. After all they were doing a fine enough job by Zack. The bathroom door was open a sliver and Angeal could hear Cloud grumbling. Angeal angled himself to see what he could, just to make sure. 

Cloud was sitting up on the vanity. From the tilt of his body he was leaning in close to the mirror. His feet were off the floor. Angeal heard him sigh. “That’ll bruise up ugly.”

Angeal frowned. Bruise? Cloud hopped off the vanity and went to the cupboard where Genesis kept a stash of potions. Angeal listened as a cap twisted off. “Bottoms up,” Cloud sighed and drank. “Yech!” Angeal smirked and tiptoed back to the kitchen. The boy could take care of himself.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Angeal,” Genesis started, hands on his hips, “you put too much detergent in the laundry.”

“I put exactly the amount recommended on the box,” Angeal said, checking on his pot roast. 

“Well, something’s gone wrong,” Genesis snapped. “The sheets are making me itch!”

“Itch?” Angeal turned. “Clean sheets shouldn’t do that.”

“Sheets that are full of soap will!” Genesis slumped down at the kitchen table, scraping at his forearms. 

“Hey, hey, don’t do that,” Angeal warned, batting Genesis with an oven mitt. “You’ll scratch yourself to bits.” 

“I wouldn’t have to if somebody could wash the sheets properly,” Genesis grumbled. 

“Maybe they just didn’t rinse out enough,” Sephiroth put in, not even bothering to look up from his book. “Is the washing machine working properly?”

Angeal shrugged. “As far as I can tell.” He wiped one hand across his brow. “Toss everything in the hamper. I’ll wash them again with just water and see how that goes.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“There, is that better?” Cloud asked.

“No.” Genesis shook his head. “I want more.” 

Cloud rolled his eyes and poured more lotion into his hands. “Okay.” He slapped it onto Genesis’s bare back and began working it in. “You’re going through this bottle really quick, Gen.” 

Genesis turned his head out of the pillow he had been happily groaning into. “How low is it?” Cloud showed him. Genesis went limp into the mattress and sighed. “I’ll get more later. Right now it’s making the itching go away.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Do you need any help with that?” Cloud offered. 

“Thanks, but it’s okay,” Angeal said, knife moving in a flurry among the vegetables. “I’ve got it covered.” Cloud nodded and dutifully sipped his milk. The boy had a routine, Angeal was noticing. He’d come in, spend a stretch in the bathroom rinsing off the day, traipse into the kitchen in his shorts and t-shirt for a snack and sit on the couch till the others came home. 

At least he was making healthy snack choices. A glass of milk, some fruit and maybe some cookies from Genesis’s new cookie jar, never more than three. It would be nice if the pup could learn to show that kind of restraint, even if nothing ever affected his appetite. Mako and hormones made for one ravenous beast. Angeal looked at Cloud sitting on the high bar chair, feet swinging back and forth as he sipped his milk without a care. Would mako treatments do the same to him?

Angeal scraped the last of his curry ingredients into a bowl. “I hear you’ve been helping Seph and Gen with their cooking.”

Cloud swallowed in a hurry. “Not really,” he said. “Mostly I just stand in the doorway with the fire extinguisher.”

Angeal glanced up at the curiously marked ceiling and nodded slowly. “Makes sense.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“So get the points together, yeah, like that,” Zack instructed. “This one moves and the other one doesn’t and you pick things up like tweezers and eat.” Zack promptly dropped noodles on his shirt. “Aw, damn.”

Cloud snickered. “Which part is spilling food all over yourself?”

“Okay, so I don’t have it down yet.” Zack stuck his tongue out and reached for a napkin. “I’d like to see you handle dumplings with dipping sauce.”

“I think I’m handling them pretty well,” Cloud said, swiping a dumpling from Zack’s plate.

“Hey! No fair!” Zack picked his chopsticks back up. “You take my dumpling, I get your pickle!”

“No way.” Cloud moved his bowl out of the way. “You can have a dumpling back, but leave my pickle alone.”

“Children,” Angeal warned, “no fighting at the dinner table.”

“Yessir,” they said. Angeal hid his smile behind his soup bowl.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Oh!” Sephiroth sat up so fast Cloud had to cling to him to stay in his lap. “Let’s try that next time.”

“Not a chance,” Genesis said. “You know how dangerous that is?”

Sephiroth smirked. “Isn’t that part of the appeal?”

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea, Seph,” Angeal put in, petting Zack’s hair. “Professionals make these things look easy but we don’t have near that kind of know-how.”

“We’ll never get it if we don’t try,” Sephiroth said.

“Seph,” Cloud said, holding Sephiroth’s face in his little hands, “please, find another recipe. You’re not ready to flambé.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Their cooking had improved. Angeal would admit it. The little home library had a few solid additions on the subject, recipes, techniques and even one on cake decorating. Sephiroth thought it looked pretty. Both Sephiroth and Genesis had gotten very good with kitchen knives. There were still some spills here and there and they had not mastered clean-up but things were coming along. 

“Cloud has to eat,” Genesis said one day when Angeal asked, and that was all he would say on the matter before dousing his head with olive oil ‘to cut down on this Goddessdamned dandruff’. Angeal admired their efforts, even when Zack reported that Genesis’s pasta tasted inexplicably of roast eggplant while there wasn’t an eggplant to be had in the place. 

Angeal didn’t take it too seriously. It was just trying to impress a lover. They would likely stop once the novelty wore off. Then Angeal came home to find Sephiroth home alone, sitting on the floor in front of the oven and watching a roast cook inside with an intensity he used to reserve only for his prime time stories. 

“Seph?” Angeal asked.

“Shh,” Sephiroth said. “The fat is dripping.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“The living room looks really nice,” Angeal said. 

“Of course it does,” Genesis said, flipping through ‘Loveless’ once again. “Try not to wreck it up this time.”

Angeal waited for the tension to pass before he tried again. “I see you matched the throw cushions to the trim on the tables.”

This time Genesis did look up. “And it was well worth the trouble.”

“Does it make that big a difference?” Angeal knew that was a mistake before he finished saying it. 

“Of course it does! Caramel would have been too yellow!” Genesis snapped his book shut and went off to the bathroom so he could read in peace.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal came in ready to start on dinner but it seemed that the kitchen was occupied. Considering that Genesis was involved it was a stroke of luck it wasn’t anything to sear a hole in his brain. It was… interesting, though. 

Cloud was there, blindfolded and bound to a chair, dressed in his little shirt and shorts and swinging his feet like he hadn’t a care in the world. Genesis sat before him with an array of bowls. Angeal took quick stock, sniffing out what was out of sight. Cherries. Persimmon. Lemon wedges and honeydew melon. Blueberries. And dumbapples. Honest to goodness Banora dumbapples, sliced and waiting, rich purple and fragrant. Little dishes of cream and chocolate syrup rounded out the selection. Angeal took a deep, quiet breath.

Honey. Banora appleblossom honey. Genesis reached for an apple slice and swirled it around in the bowl. “What’s this one, Cloud?” he asked, trailing honey on the boy’s lips with the apple slice. Cloud opened his mouth slowly and licked the honey off. He reached with his tongue, seeking sweetness. He tilted forward in the seat with a soft moan until he caught the apple slice between his teeth. He teased it, moving his head to try to wrest it away but Genesis wouldn’t let him have it. 

Cloud sighed and took a bite. He chewed and swallowed. “Apple, with honey,” he said, feet swinging. 

“Good boy,” Genesis said, reaching for the cherries. 

“Gen, what are you doing?” Angeal was surprised by the crack in his own voice. 

Genesis looked up from the cherry he was liberally dunking in whipped cream. “I’m making sure he gets his five veggies and fruits, of course.” 

With a little hitch to his step, Angeal walked around them to the counter to get set up for the evening. “That’s more than five,” he said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At least, Angeal reflected, as he made his way in to start on yet another healthy, wholesome reparation dinner, nothing exceptionally kinky was going on. “Zack,” he called, noting the boots by the door. “Are you here?” Maybe Zack was napping before dinner.

Except that people didn’t usually nap standing up against a wall with pretty blonds kneeling in front of them. Zack turned pink when he saw Angeal. “Um, hey, ‘geal,” he said weakly. 

“Dinner’ll be ready in an hour,” Angeal said and hustled away. What could he say? He’d given the okay.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Every SOLDIER kept a calendar in his head. ‘Next day’, they called it, the only thing on that calendar of any note. “When’s your next day?” they’d ask each other. 

Nobody liked going to the labs. 

Angeal, and he suspected Genesis as well, kept _two_ such calendars. One was his and by extension Genesis’s, since they usually went in for their check-ups and screenings together. The other was for Sephiroth. 

Sephiroth’s lab days were acknowledged among the three of them to be the worst of the lot. They left him sick, weary, demoralized, sensitive to the extreme and ready to snap at the slightest provocation. It was good to be forewarned, especially for those who shared a living space with the man. So when Angeal stepped in, careful not to make noise with the door, and heard the TV running, he had to rush into the living room to tell Zack to turn the volume down before Sephiroth came home.

Sephiroth was already home, curled up and looking dead tired on the couch. He had the remote in one hand, a cooking show he was fond of on the screen and his head in Cloud Strife’s lap. Cloud shared a little smile with Angeal and went back to stroking Sephiroth’s hair.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The third time Angeal heard Cloud making _that_ kind of clattering in the bathroom he had to step in. “What’s going on?”

Cloud jumped off the vanity, spilling a little of the potion on himself. “Nothing. Just getting cleaned up.”

“Fixed up is more like it.” Angeal strode over and took Cloud by the chin. He turned the boy’s face back and forth under the light. “What happened?”

Cloud eased himself out of Angeal’s grip. “Just some barrack smack, nothing serious.”

Angeal frowned. “Are you sure?” Shit, the kid was just the type to get a hard time from the bigger ones, wasn’t he?

“Nothing I haven’t handled yet.” Cloud shrugged and braced for the potion.

Angeal sighed. “What’s it about?”

“Huh?” Cloud froze.

“What’s it about?” Angeal repeated. “Being little? The hair? They used to go after Gen and me for being backwoods hicks in our day, till Gen wiped the floor with them.”

Cloud smiled. “Nothing like that. They’re just jealous.” Angeal tried not to roll his eyes. Kid had an ego growing on him. 

“Jealous of what?”

Cloud swallowed the potion down and screwed up his face till the taste left his mouth. “That I’m getting more action than they are.” He caught the frown that crossed Angeal’s face. “I didn’t tell them details. I wouldn’t. They don’t know anything about this.”

“So what do they know?” 

Cloud blinked into the empty potion bottle. “They know I slip out to see somebody on off hours every chance I get. It’s kind of hard to hide that.”

Angeal snorted. “I’d expect half of them do the same. Why is it such a problem if it’s you?”

Cloud smiled up sheepishly. “Because I’m still the runt of the troop, Sir, and I didn’t go out of my way to hide that it’s not a girl I’m seeing.” Angeal’s fingers twitched reflexively. “It’s okay, Sir,” Cloud said. “At least two of them I’m sure it’s because they’re mad I’m not seeing _them_.” 

Angeal had to laugh. It was always like that. He reached out to ruffle Cloud’s hair before realizing that it was in fact Cloud, and not Zack. He settled for a light pet instead. “Just take care, okay? Don’t let it get out of control.”

Cloud turned into the touch. “I won’t.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“You’re going to have to pay me in cake for this, Gen,” Cloud said. “Lots and lots of chocolate layer cake.”

“It’s in the other basket of goodies, Cloud, dear, with bonbons on top,” Genesis said, setting the camera up. He straightened and took in the backdrop and costume. “You look adorable in that in that cape. Turn around, I want to see the whole thing.”

Cloud rolled his eyes and spun in place, petticoats awhirl under the red cloak. “Do you want the hood up or down?”

Genesis folded his arms across his chest. “Up, but I don’t want it shadowing your face. Let it fall down when the wolves slink out and surprise you. Hear that, you two? Give him a good shock.”

“Oh, we will,” Zack said, straightening his furry ears. 

Sephiroth nodded. “We’ll scare him stiff.”

“What about me?” Angeal asked. 

“Go back to bed, ‘Grandma’,” Genesis huffed. “The wolves will come to eat you _after_ they’re done with Little Red.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“I don’t know,” Angeal ventured, “if it’s entirely healthy to be training a young man up in such ways.”

The eyebrow Genesis raised over his book was a challenge. “And what ways are those?”

“All those… toys,” Angeal said, for lack of a better word. “And the restraints and the costumes and the games.” 

“Nobody’s forcing him into anything,” Genesis said. “And you’re a fine one to talk. You’ve trained your pup into such total submission even Cloud’s topping him.” 

Angeal frowned. “That’s not what it looked like to me.”

“It’s true,” Sephiroth said, “When they’re together Cloud’s in control.”

“But, but-,” Angeal sputtered. “But he’s on the taking side.”

“Cloud takes cock because Cloud likes taking cock,” Genesis snapped.

Sephiroth nodded. “Doesn’t mean he’s not in charge.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Please, ‘geal,” the puppy pleaded. “I miss _you._” It was hard to argue with those eyes. 

“Here, Zack? Are you sure?” 

“I’ve done it here before and so have you.” Zack pouted. “Why should it make any difference if we do it together? That was the idea, wasn’t it? Please, Angeal.” He pressed the entire length of his body against Angeal. “Please.”

Angeal grabbed Zack by the arms and kissed him. It had been too long for just the two of them. He marched Zack backwards, making for the bedroom without ever breaking the kiss. Zack was so hard already, so needy and pliant and yielding. Angeal felt his heart racing in response. But when he pushed the door open, the room was already occupied. 

Cloud shrieked at the intrusion but Sephiroth did not falter. Angeal stood still, clutching Zack against him as he tried to process what he was seeing. Cloud was secured to the bed post, wrists bound together with silk bands from Genesis’s collection. Sephiroth had Cloud’s legs up over his shoulders for better access. Angeal blinked and tried to turn away but his legs wouldn’t move. Sephiroth glanced backwards. “Plenty of room,” he said, indicating the other half of the bed.

“Cloud?” Zack called out. There was a surge of hardness against Angeal’s thigh. 

“He won’t- won’t let me come,” Cloud wailed, tugging at the bindings. Angeal glanced up and caught sight of Sephiroth’s member as it moved, and above that, Cloud’s engorged cock encircled by a strap of black leather. 

Sephiroth thrust in extra hard, forcing a sharp cry out of Cloud. “He doesn’t come until he satisfies me.”

“Cloud!” Zack moved towards the bed pulling a mute Angeal along with him. He turned and looked up at Angeal in a silent plea to do something. Angeal didn’t think there was anything he could do, not with all the blood leaving his brain. 

Sephiroth growled. “If he can’t do it alone, maybe you need to help him. If Angeal says it’s okay.”

“Angeal?” Zack looked up. 

Angeal blinked. “Do what you want.” Zack pulled him down to the bed. 

“Lube’s on the dresser,” Sephiroth said, moving his head to let the ends of his hair brush Cloud’s face. Angeal knew from the groan that Sephiroth made afterwards that Cloud was doing all he could to please the man even without use of his hands. 

Zack was on the bed and crawling towards Cloud before Angeal could think. “Cloud,” he said, unable to say more. He reached out and caressed Cloud’s face, drying the boy’s frustrated tears. 

Angeal busied himself with belts and lube to have something to do. He knew Zack and Cloud had been growing closer. He knew they were physical. But he had never watched them before. Sure, he had walked in on them that one time, but that didn’t count. He hadn’t stayed. He hadn’t watched Zack rain little kisses on Cloud’s skin, hadn’t watched the shape of Cloud’s lips as he called out Zack’s name. 

Sephiroth sped up, forcing another sharp cry from Cloud’s throat. Angeal would have called a stop except that neither Sephiroth nor Zack seemed alarmed. Cloud did have safewords, he remembered Zack mentioning, but Angeal had never bothered to ask what those words were. 

No words were leaving Cloud’s lips now, just sounds, little bird-like cries as Zack kissed his forehead and caressed his chest. Angeal stripped Zack’s lower half and concentrated on what he was trying to do with the lube. “Cloud,” Zack was whispering, “just a little more, Cloud.”

“I can’t,” Cloud said, voice hitching. “I can’t.”

“You will,” Sephiroth said. It was a quiet order. Angeal’s own cock twitched to obey. He slid slick fingers into Zack and reached under with his other hand. Zack was furiously hard, thrusting readily into Angeal’s hand. 

“More,” Sephiroth said and Zack swooped in to catch Cloud’s mouth. It was a messy, sloppy kiss with tongue everywhere, the kind that was meant as a show. Sephiroth grunted his approval and slammed into Cloud, shaking the bed out of place. He reached down and undid the clasp of the cock ring, offering Cloud the rough touch of his palm. Cloud clenched his teeth, fighting the tide, but he soon flushed all the way down to his chest, and arched his back with a cry. 

He sank back to bed gasping under Sephiroth’s weight. Zack looked back over his shoulder, pleading silently with Angeal for his own release. It could not come fast enough. Sephiroth lay on top of his little lover, taking in the sight with a sated disinterest. Cloud’s eyes fluttered open at the motion beside him, but he too was content. “Untie me, Seph,” was all he said, and when his hands were free he reached out to brush Zack’s trembling fingers. 

It was over much sooner than Angeal had anticipated. He just hadn’t been able to hold himself back this time. Well, it had been a while. He eventually untangled himself from Zack’s warm body and joined Sephiroth in the bathroom. 

“He’s beautiful,” Sephiroth said, and Angeal knew he was talking about Zack. 

“Thanks, I guess. Not like I had anything to do with that.”

“I’m glad you brought him here,” Sephiroth said, soaking a towel in warm water. “He’s been good company for Cloud.” 

Yes, Angeal wanted to say, very, _very_ good company. But it wouldn’t do to be spiteful. He should count his lucky stars that things seemed to be working out. “Cloud’s been good for Zack too, I think.” 

“They look good together,” Sephiroth said, smirking at his reflection. 

“I noticed.”

“You should watch them sometime.”

Angeal snorted. “If it’s always like it was just now, I’d have a hard time just watching.”

Sephiroth nodded. “That’s true enough.”

Angeal gave Sephiroth a surprised look. “What’s stopping you?”

Sephiroth did not miss a beat. “Your puppy hasn’t said it’s okay with him yet.”

“Is that all?” Angeal almost laughed. “You’re still The General Sephiroth, you know. Boy’s more than a little starstruck.”

“So I need to ask him?” Sephiroth appeared to consider it. “Very well. I suppose you’ll get around to asking Cloud yourself sometime. If you’re interested, that is.”

Angeal wanted to say he wasn’t. It felt like the proper response but he knew it was a lie. He said nothing at all until they went back to bed and then he only asked Zack to roll over for a moment to get cleaned up. When he finished, he held Zack close in his arms and hooked his chin over the boy’s shoulder to spend a long night watching Cloud sleep.


	21. Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doing Dominant right. And wrong.

A shaking bed in the morning meant one thing to Zack; Angeal was jacking off because he wanted to let his puppy sleep. Angeal was pumping unnaturally fierce today. “Ange,” Zack groaned, rolling over onto his side, “I’ll give you some if you need it that bad.”

But Angeal was not even in the bed. Zack’s eyes fluttered open to meet Cloud’s closed ones. Cloud was clutching at the sheets in front of him, breathing in gasps, turning his face into the pillows to stifle his cries. Sephiroth lay behind Cloud, propping himself up with one hand, holding Cloud’s hip with the other as he drove himself into Cloud’s sweet, willing form 

Zack sat up at full alert and promptly swayed back down from lightheadedness. Sephiroth smirked at him. “Not enough blood reaching your brain?” Zack glanced down at himself, trying to nudge the sheets to cover the tell-tale bulge. Cloud’s eyes opened. He locked gazes with Zack, breath hitching. Zack swallowed and froze. Cloud made no sounds of suffering but there was desperate pleading in his eyes.

“He’s not allowed to talk,” Sephiroth said, smiling with supreme satisfaction as he trailed one long finger down Cloud’s throat. “He’s not allowed to touch himself, or make any sound at all.”

Cloud’s cheeks flushed at the General’s words and his eyes shut tight again. He shifted his hips to allow Sephiroth better access. Zack’s mouth moved but his voice wouldn’t cooperate. Sephiroth’s smile grew darker. “Oh, you can’t talk either now?” He changed his pace to quick, shallow thrusts that had Cloud clawing at the sheets with tears welling in his eyes.

Sephiroth leaned over Cloud’s shoulder to bring his face close to Zack’s. “Do you like watching this, Zack? Do you like watching us?” he whispered. “Would you like some?”

Zack’s heart pounded like a jackhammer. General Sephiroth had just asked him, asked _him_! But it would be like that, like what they were doing. Zack did not know if he could take that, so many orders, so many rules. And Angeal was never that rough. Angeal never demanded total obedience in bed. Zack knew that General Sephiroth would take nothing less. Zack tried to picture himself in such complete submission. He wasn’t sure he could do that, or want that, even if certain parts of him were responding to the thought with solid enthusiasm.

“Zack?” Sephiroth asked, pulling back a little. Zack snapped back to reality, trying to give the General an answer. All that came out was a high-pitched squeal. 

Sephiroth pulled away entirely. “Maybe some other time,” he said, turning his focus back to Cloud. Zack groaned and squirmed in the bed, trying to get some pressure on his cock with his thighs. Damn his slow-witted morning self, of all the times to actually NOT be able to say something. And there the General was, thrusting into Cloud with teeth clenched and one hand reaching around to pinch the boy’s nipples. 

Cloud’s mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. Zack screamed for him. Sephiroth looked at him again, glancing down to take in his condition. “Cloud,” Sephiroth said, leaning down again. “Looks like your friend needs some help. He helped you last night. Why don’t you return the favour?” He placed a hand between Cloud’s shoulder blades and pushed him, making Cloud bend double at the waist. Cloud moved with no further instruction, pulling the sheets aside to get to Zack. 

It wasn’t anything Cloud hadn’t done for Zack before, but he had never done it with General Sephiroth setting the rhythm behind him. “No sound, Cloud,” Sephiroth reminded, holding tight to Cloud’s ass. “No voice.”

Cloud nodded and flicked out his tongue. He kept it surprisingly light, little butterfly touches to the tip of Zack’s cock. Zack put a hand over his eyes and groaned. Cloud took it as encouragement and began to press sloppy wet kisses along Zack’s length. A vicious thrust from Sephiroth sent Cloud face first into the thatch of Zack’s hair. “Don’t tease,” Sephiroth said.

Zack’s breath hitched as he reached down to steady himself for Cloud. He caught sight of Cloud’s lips encircling him and had to look away. It was already enough just feeling Cloud’s tongue on him, swirling around the head. Zack blinked twice and found General Sephiroth staring him right in the eye. His breath caught. He could not look away.

“Do you like this, Zack?” Sephiroth was asking. “Do you like having him between us?” Zack tried to nod but he wasn’t sure he had managed it. Sephiroth seemed satisfied at any rate, grabbing hold of Cloud’s hip again and moving so hard their skin slapped with each thrust. Cloud relaxed his jaw around Zack’s cock and took him deeper, forced further along by Sephiroth’s fierce pace. 

“Suck him harder, Cloud,” Sephiroth ordered, eyes never leaving Zack’s. “I want to hear it.” The slick, wet sounds of suction joined the air. Zack felt Cloud’s fingers reaching up to stroke his balls. 

“Gaia,” he cried and rammed himself into Cloud’s face as the pleasure took over. He flung an arm over his eyes and wondered what punishment was awaiting Cloud for the whimpering until he realized that it wasn’t Cloud at all. Zack opened his eyes to see Sephiroth pulling Cloud back up on the bed.

“You did well, little bird,” Sephiroth said. “Do you still have some there?” He turned Cloud’s head towards him and licked up what had spilled down Cloud’s face. Zack felt something running through him even though he had been sure he was spent. 

Sephiroth licked his lips in satisfaction and looked Zack in the eye again. “Not bad at all,” he said, then turned his attentions back to Cloud. “Scream for me now, Cloud. I want to hear you.”

The first choked-up cry was filled with relief. Sephiroth gave Cloud an encouraging spank and reached around to hold him. Cloud’s cries grew louder and more desperate. “More, Cloud,” Sephiroth said, squeezing the base of Cloud’s cock. “I won’t let you come until I hear you properly.”

Cloud grabbed handfuls of his own hair and screamed. “Please, goddess, Sephiroth, please, I can’t, please!”

Satisfied, for the moment, Sephiroth gave Cloud’s cock harsh rapid strokes, keeping time with his own hips. “Yes, Cloud. Like that.” Cloud cried out and went rigid, nearly howling. Sephiroth growled behind him, speeding up to spend himself completely and silently in Cloud’s tight body. 

They lay very still, catching their breath for a while. Zack felt an urge to pull the sheets over himself at Sephiroth’s satisfied gaze. Cloud still had not opened his eyes. He breathed open-mouthed, his arms held tight against his chest, with the beginnings of a livid handprint over one hip. Sephiroth stroked the length of Cloud's body and kissed him once on the nape of his neck before pushing him closer to Zack and getting out of bed. “I’ll see about breakfast. Come out when you’re ready.”

Zack received Cloud in waiting arms. The boy was trembling. Zack tried to smooth blond hair from damp skin. “Cloud,” he tried to say, but his voice had disappeared again. “Cloud?” 

“Mmm?” Cloud groaned, eyes still closed. 

“You okay?” Zack had to know.

Cloud shifted his legs and hissed at the soreness. His eyes did not open but Zack had never seen him grin that wide. “Oh, yeah.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis had never been shy about who he fucked, or how, or where. Angeal had learned to live with it long ago, so when he found himself needing to retrieve his razor from the master bathroom he walked right in, fully intent on ignoring what was happening on the bed when he passed by.

He caught sight of the white ruffles first and resolutely turned his head. “Just getting my razor, guys,” he said and stepped into the bathroom. He found his razor soon enough but spent some time hunched over the sink, bracing himself for the walk back out. 

It was Cloud out there, pinned beneath Genesis. Probably one of the more elaborate games from the look of it. Angeal resolved not to stare. No, he did not need to know what Genesis got up to with Cloud. They fucked regularly and often with a lot of yelling, like they were right then. That was all Angeal really needed to know. Cloud let out a shriek that made the mirror in the bathroom rattle. Angeal was rattled too. What the hell was Genesis doing out there? He steeled himself with one hand on the door and went in. 

Cloud was wearing the remains of something frilly, a short dress, pale blue with white lace and ruffles. Much of it had been ripped from his body. One shoulder was bare and showed the marks of Genesis’s teeth. There were petticoats, white ones with lace frills. They were pushed up around Cloud’s hips so Genesis could ride. Angeal caught sight of a white garter belt. The stockings it held up were white and ripped, clawed down the length of Cloud’s legs. Cloud himself had not done it. His wrists were tied to the bedposts again and he was blindfolded with blue silk. He cried out with no reservations, a picture of ravished innocence. 

Genesis hoisted Cloud’s hips up higher and got up on his knees to change the angle. Cloud whimpered and writhed, wrists twisting against the bindings. Genesis looked and Angeal and smiled. “Got what you came for?”

Angeal swallowed before he answered. “Yeah, my razor,” he said, waving it a bit. “Time to do something about this five o’clock shadow.”

“Ah,” Genesis said. “Your puppy likes you smooth.” He slammed into Cloud hard enough for the bed to hit the wall. 

“No more than you do,” Angeal said, cursing himself for it even though he couldn’t say why. Genesis’s eyebrow rose but he did not remark on it.

“Enjoy your shave, I suppose,” he said, angling for the kill. “I’m a little… busy… here!” Cloud made a keening wail. Tears were beginning to trickle out from beneath the blindfold.

“So I see,” Angeal said, shuffling towards the door. “Don’t let me interrupt.” He slid out and stumbled to the couch, trying to gather his nerves.

The TV was on and Sephiroth was in his chair, clutching the remote. The volume was up pretty high for a SOLDIER, blocking out the sounds from the bedroom. Angeal wanted to ask what was on, but one did not interrupt Sephiroth when his stories were on. There was no need to ask. It was an investigative drama series Angeal recognized, one that focussed entirely on sex crimes. Angeal felt his stomach flip. The cries from the bedroom did not help. Angeal took his razor and quietly made his way out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Can you believe that?” Genesis grumbled, picking up the pace. “First he can’t scream about it enough. Now he can’t even say a word!”

Cloud cried out briefly. “Ba-, ba-…” he tried to say.

“Bastard! Exactly!” Genesis said. “That complete and utter bastard!” He swung Cloud’s legs up over his shoulder and bore down, working things to a quick finish. He pulled out almost before it was over. “It’s not like he has any right to complain about this,” he said, grabbing a moist towelette. “But now he thinks he can just saunter in here anytime and everything will go back to normal.”

Cloud turned his head weakly. “Genesis, untie me.” Genesis made a disdainful sound and ripped through the straps holding Cloud’s hands to the bed, leaving Cloud to undo the blindfold on his own. Cloud did so and sat up, massaging his wrists. Genesis paced back and forth beside the bed, railing against Angeal.

“I mean,” Genesis was saying, “I could have said something about it when he took up with Zack. I could have taken him aside and asked him to consider the consequences. But did I? No, I let him do what he wanted. I _trusted_ that he wouldn’t get up to anything completely untoward.”

“I’m thirsty,” Cloud rasped and licked his lips. 

“Glass is on the nightstand, chick,” said Genesis. 

Cloud nodded and began to work on getting what was left of the dress off. It seemed such a waste to him, to purchase these elaborate and often very expensive things to dress up in if they were only going to be ripped to shreds, often after only one or two wearings. They were hard to get into and hard to get out of, but the reaction they got was usually worth it. Usually. 

Cloud tugged the petticoats down and unclipped the garter belt. He did not bother rolling the stockings down properly; they were already beyond saving. He sat up in bed and gathered a thin fleece blanket around himself. He was suddenly dreadfully tired but he doubted he would get to sleep with Genesis in such a mood. 

Cloud slipped off the bed, wrapping the blanket around himself as he went. He walked behind Genesis and stepped out of the room. He made his way down to the living room, leaning heavily on one wall. He could feel a slick wetness running down his thigh but he couldn’t be bothered with that. The blanket would catch it and the blankets were washed often enough. 

Sephiroth was there, eyes glued to the screen. Cloud did not care what was on. It was still quieter and calmer than Genesis had been. He curled up on one end of the couch, the end closer to Sephiroth and set his chin on the armrest to watch the man. 

Sephiroth did not like interruptions when he was watching TV. He knew the detailed storylines of nearly every popular show on every major network. Cloud had never seen him read any sort of viewer’s digest, but Sephiroth was often able to predict the twists and turns before they happened. There was a pattern to TV, he had told Cloud once. The formulae never really changed, but Sephiroth kept watching. _“It’s not really how people are, you know, Seph,”_ Genesis had reminded him one day. Cloud did not want to think about Genesis right then. 

“Seph?” he said, too tired to care about interrupting. “Can I sit with you?”

“Hm,” Sephiroth said, but he opened his arms and made space for Cloud on his lap even though his eyes never left the screen. Cloud slid off the couch and bundled in. He melted against Sephiroth’s chest, curling up to keep his hair out of view. One of Sephiroth’s arms came up around him. The other one was most likely still gripping the remote. 

They huddled together in Sephiroth’s chair, Sephiroth intent on the action on the screen, Cloud content with just the contact. It was the scent that finally distracted Sephiroth. Cloud smelled of himself and Genesis and sex. It was fresh and heady and strong, the way it was before they cleaned him up for the night. Sephiroth bent his ear to Cloud’s head. The boy’s heart rate was still slightly elevated and the wrist that peeked out from the folds of the blanket was still an angry red. Sephiroth frowned. 

That wasn’t like Gen. It was not the way they did things. He had done the fucking so he was supposed to do the work afterwards. Genesis usually liked it. On occasion he fought Sephiroth for the privilege. Cloud was supposed to be taken care of after a round, cleaned up, cured if necessary, held and petted and soothed. But here he was, seeking his post-coital cuddle elsewhere. He didn’t care enough for crime dramas to be out here for the TV. 

Sephiroth briefly – very briefly- considered getting up and going in there. He could sit Genesis down and ask what was going on. Genesis might be stubborn about it if he was in one of his moods, but Sephiroth had found a stubbornness all his own since they had first met. Cloud was comfortable now though, and very warm, and the commercial break was over. Sephiroth would have to talk to Genesis about this later. He leaned back in his seat and reclined it almost as far as it could go. “Is this good, Cloud?”

Cloud nuzzled against Sephiroth’s chest. “Perfect.” He pulled the blankets tighter and let himself fall asleep.


	22. Military Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angeal goes looking for a fight and finds something else.

“Cloud, are you out here?” Genesis called. 

“Hush,” Sephiroth grumbled. “I’m watching something.” 

“This is important.” Genesis had no problem staring death in the eye. “Have you seen Cloud?”

Sephiroth turned away from the screen and fixed such a glare on Genesis that Genesis seriously reconsidered his personal daredevil policy for a second. Then he saw the blanket. There was Cloud, bundled up till only tufts of yellow hair showed, ensconced in Sephiroth’s lap. “There he is,” Genesis said, voice overflowing with relief. “Hand him to me,” he said, opening his arms. “I’ll take care of him.”

“No.”

Genesis was stunned. “No?”

“No,” Sephiroth said, turning back to the screen, cupping a hand over Cloud’s ear as he did. “He’s asleep and he’s fine here.”

“But… but Seph,” Genesis started. “He’s a mess!”

“Not as big a mess as you are, I suspect,” Sephiroth said. He did not sound bitter in the least and somehow that made it worse. 

“Seph, what are you-“

“Twenty-seven minutes,” Sephiroth said.

Genesis sputtered. “What?”

“Twenty-seven minutes,” Sephiroth repeated. “That’s how long it took you to come out here after Cloud.”

Genesis paled where he stood, frozen in place as the words sank in. Twenty seven minutes he should have been taking care of Cloud instead of pacing back and forth, raving to an empty room. Had it really been so long? And he had no telling exactly when Cloud had left. “Is he okay?”

“I said he’s asleep.”

“But is he okay?” Genesis asked. 

Sephiroth turned towards Genesis again. “I don’t know. Do you have reason to think he isn’t?” Genesis was, for once, at a loss for words. Cloud… his little Cloud, he wouldn’t have left if everything had been fine. He would have stayed. Genesis would have, should have taken care of him. 

But Genesis had been preoccupied. Angry. The impatience still surging through him told him the sex had not been that great despite the build-up. If it hadn’t been good for him, then for _Cloud_...

Sephiroth’s stare was piercing. “I think you’ll be making pancakes tomorrow,” he said and turned back to his show.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis was antsy. Angeal knew the signs well. Genesis was distracted, fidgety, mentally on another world and being perpetually startled by this one. He picked at his food when Angeal came over for breakfast. Genesis’s eyes flicked often to the counter. The makings for pancakes were out, but Genesis was eating cold cereal instead. Choco-Chocobo flakes. The Chocolate Chocobo prize lay on the table in front of him. It was some kind of wind-up toy, a yellow bird. ‘Collect all 5!!!’ the back of the box declared. Genesis would glance at his one bird on occasion and then stare into his bowl without eating. Sephiroth sat nearby, drinking tea with a scowl. 

“You two sleep well?” Angeal asked. 

“_I_ did,” Sephiroth said. Genesis did not answer. Angeal was no fool but this was one lovers’ spat he had nothing to do with. He held his peace. 

It was not until that afternoon, when the other two were out, Sephiroth for a small conference with Lazard and Genesis most likely tearing the VR room to shreds in frustration, that Angeal learned otherwise. 

“Seph, is that you?” he called, hearing the door.

“No,” came the tired answer. “It’s me.” Cloud trudged into the kitchen, working his helmet off. 

“Rough day?” Angeal asked.

Cloud shrugged. “I’ve had worse.” He held his helmet in his lap and picked at the eyeshields.

“I always wondered how you guys see in those things,” Angeal said as he dried a glass.

“Not well.” Cloud smirked. “But it beats getting shot in the head.” He sighed. “Are SOLDIER helmets any good?”

“No worse than any other kind,” Angeal said, reaching up to put things away. “They’re a holdover from other military uniform designs but they turned out to be mostly unnecessary. SOLDIERs can have very hard heads.”

Cloud snorted. “Yeah, I noticed.” He slumped forward on the table. “Angeal?”

There was something to the name, something plaintive. Angeal turned and gave Cloud his full attention. “What is it?”

“Talk to Genesis, please.” Cloud looked weary. “Whatever beef he has with you is eating him up inside.”

Angeal cleared his throat. “He can really hold a grudge, you know. I was waiting for him to cool down on his own.”

“But he’s not cooling down,” Cloud said. “I think he’s getting worse. He’s angry and edgy and being a pain in the ass for everybody. Literally in some cases.” He had enough shame left to blush at the admission. 

Angeal felt his knees wobble. He had to sit down. The chair creaked under his weight. “I want this out in the clear as much as you do, Cloud, believe me, I do. But I know Genesis, I’ve known him all my life.” Angeal took a deep breath, wondering how much Cloud knew and how much he didn’t. “Gen has a temper.”

“I noticed,” Cloud said.

“And when he’s angry he can steam for a long time.”

Cloud nodded. “I noticed that too.” 

“I’m not sure what goes on inside his head while he’s stewing, but whatever it is, it helps him work things through. If you interrupt the process it’s like throwing wood on the flames. You’ll only get things started up again.” Angeal leaned back to study Cloud’s face. The boy’s expression was pained. Angeal felt he wasn’t getting through to him. “Do you understand what I’m saying here?”

Cloud sat up too. “I understand you’re a chicken-shit,” he said, then looked startled that the words had even left his mouth. Angeal stared down at him, halfway between shock and outrage that a skinny little trooper would say that to him. Unusual circumstances, his conscience threw at him before he could throttle the boy and instil some proper discipline. Cloud had a right to certain behavior in this place, if not specifically regarding Angeal. 

“Explain yourself, cadet,” he said, First Class SOLDIER through and through. 

Cloud swallowed but met Angeal’s gaze, not head on but with the respectful face-front of the lower ranks. “You don’t want to deal with the brunt of Genesis being angry so you’re trying to wait it out instead. It makes sense except that what Genesis is angry about is all about you. It _is_, Sir,” Cloud said, cutting off Angeal’s attempt to interject. 

“You should have heard him last night after you left. It’s you he’s mad at and it’s everyone else he’s taking it out on.” Cloud’s eyes were shiny under the bright kitchen lights but he never looked away. “Please, Sir, you need to talk to him. He’s not doing so good handling it on his own.” 

Angeal didn’t like this, didn’t like that some no-account cadet would say such things to him. What did Cloud know about him and Genesis? Genesis was his practically his other half. Except, the little voice told him, you haven’t acted like an other half in a very long time. What kind of friend, what kind of lover left for months at a time like that with hardly a word? Angeal swallowed down the bitterness; it wasn’t his way to simply _react_ the way Genesis did. He would think this over before he took action. There could be other reasons he didn’t like what Cloud was saying. 

Cloud was not saying anything at the moment. He was looking straight ahead with the resolute stare of an army grunt waiting to hear how many latrines he would be digging this time. Angeal’s lips twitched upwards despite himself. Kid had guts. “You okay?”

Cloud blinked, gaze sinking. “I think I will be.” He shifted in his seat. “Maybe no playtime for a few days.”

At that, Angeal had to frown. Cloud had said as much before, about Genesis taking things out on others. Angeal drummed his fingers on the table. To make things difficult for a submissive partner was really going too far. Angeal damned himself for not taking the hint seriously sooner. “I’ll talk to him,” he said. “It’ll be messy, and we might end up buying new furniture again, but I’ll talk to him.”

Cloud looked up, smiling shyly. Angeal felt something tingling down to his toes. “Thank you, Sir,” Cloud said. 

“Enough of that,” Angeal said, fighting the urge to ruffle Cloud’s hair the way he did Zack’s. “No rank in the haven, right?”

“Right.” 

“How about you get some cookies and go watch TV for a while.” Angeal knew how to make an order sound like a suggestion and Cloud was just as good at falling in line. Angeal tried not to feel too guilty over it. There was no rank in the haven but he needed time alone to think.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis crawled back to his apartment and headed straight for bed. The day, like the one before, had been miserable. Sephiroth was barely speaking to him, burying himself in paperwork. He had not seen Cloud in days. He really hoped it was just training and patrols and not that Cloud was avoiding the apartment now. They had slipped up before, all of them, and it had never caused any permanent rift. Cloud had to come back so Genesis could make it better. 

There had been the messages, too. Angeal was emailing him again, brief notes asking to meet, to sit and talk or share a meal. Genesis could not bring himself to answer a single one but he did not delete them either. It was what he had wanted all along, he would not deny it, to have Angeal reaching out for him. But now that Angeal was doing just that, Genesis was not sure where to go. Goddess help him, he was too tired to keep being mad.

Should he answer the calls? Accept an invitation? What would happen if he did? They could have lunch in the cafeteria and complain about the food, pretending that everything was back to normal. They could make a proper date night out of it, go out someplace expensive and too fancy by far for Angeal’s taste so Genesis could watch him squirm. The idea had some merit, Genesis thought, stripping down his boxers. It could be his own minor, petty revenge and _then_ things could go back to normal. He could pretend Angeal had never been such an insensitive bastard and that Cloud had not been hurt because of it. 

Genesis clutched at his stomach, feeling unsettled. He had not eaten much today, too taken up with training and mind-numbing reports. He had not eaten much yesterday either. It seemed like something had not agreed with him and his stomach was being rather sensitive about it. And he was cold. A hot bath, a hot meal, maybe a glass of wine would have been the perfect remedy for several miserable days in succession, but it all sounded like too much effort and he was not very hungry anyway. 

Genesis picked out some sleepwear instead, long-sleeved pyjamas, a warm flannel pair he had purchased at Cloud’s insistence for the cuddle factor. He smiled at the thought. The little bird was right; sometimes the simple things were best. Genesis dressed and threw himself onto the bed, bundling up in the layers of fleece and down covers he kept piled there. He rolled around for a minute, trying to warm the covers up. 

It was a comfort all its own, having the heavy weight of blankets on him. It was like having a warm friend pressed close to him the way he often had when he had been young, though Genesis knew in his head he was hardly old now. It was like being what he had been before SOLDIER, a young boy who sneaked out of his own bed at night to seek comfort in another’s. Angeal’s. 

Genesis felt his eyes burning. They did that sometimes, with the mako. It usually passed. He wondered if Angeal had ever guessed how much Genesis treasured those nights together in that year between their first awkward encounter and hiking off to SOLDIER, nights when there had often been nothing more than sleep and closeness. Probably not, Genesis thought bitterly. Angeal probably thought Genesis was hogging the bed.

It was stupid to fixate on old, old hurts, Genesis thought, especially ones that could hardly hope to touch him anymore. Genesis gathered the blankets around him and tried to will himself to sleep before his train of thought went down the wrong track. He was tired but sleep would not come. Genesis lay in the dark and tried to keep his thoughts from matching it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Gen?” Angeal took note of the boots by the door. They were, oddly, on the wrong sides of each other, and one of them had fallen over. “Genesis, are you in here?” The bedroom was the most likely place. That had its pros and cons, Angeal reflected. Mattresses were very hard to break, though they could be ripped to shreds if weapons got involved and springs made for nasty accidents. Still, a mattress was at least fairly easy to replace even if Genesis felt picky. “Genesis?” he called out one more time.

“Here,” came the reply, faint, small and grumpy. Angeal steeled himself, Buster Sword on his back, and went in. 

The room was dark. Genesis was in bed. His uniform lay discarded in a trail on the floor. “Gen?” Angeal said, picking up the red coat. “How come you didn’t hang this up properly?”

“Too tired,” Genesis said. His voice emerged faint and weary from the blanketed bundle on the bed. Angeal paused, hanger in hand. This was not the brawl he had been expecting. 

“Work wearing you out?”

“Sort of,” was the reply. “I’ve been training.”

“Did you get my messages?” Angeal asked. 

“I got them,” Genesis said. “Sorry I didn’t answer. I’m not feeling hungry.”

“How about tomorrow?” Angeal asked. If Genesis was amenable to a milder way of working things out, that could only be good. 

“I don’t know if I’ll be hungry tomorrow,” Genesis said. “I wasn’t hungry yesterday either.” 

Angeal set his sword down by the closet door and looked Genesis over. “Gen, are you sick?” 

The lump on the bed shook its head region. “I don’t know. I know I don’t feel so good.”

Angeal was over there in a flash. “Are you coming down with something?”

“I don’t know,” Genesis said. “I haven’t been sick in a long time. Do you remember what it’s like?” 

Angeal chuckled. “Here, let me check your temperature.” He reached over to do a forehead check. The blanket lump writhed, batting him away. “Okay, look, if you’re not hungry, can we still talk sometime? I really want to.”

The lump on the bed turned slowly. Genesis’s bright eyes peered out from a gap in the sheets. “You want to?”

“Yes,” Angeal said. “Do you?”

Genesis sighed. “I don’t know. What do you want to talk all of a sudden for anyway? You’ve been doing fine without it so far.”

Angeal let the bitterness roll over him. Water on a duck’s back and all that. It helped that there was a weakness to exploit. “Cloud asked me to.”

The lump sat up. Blankets fell away to reveal Genesis’s surprised face. “Cloud asked you?” Shock gave way to dismay and Genesis flopped back down again. “Well, let me have it, then.”

“Have what?”

“The yelling,” Genesis said. “The scolding, the reprimand, the lecture, the chewing out, the rebuff and don’t forget the tongue-lashing. It’s no more than I deserve.” He slithered further into the sheets and awaited the blow. 

Angeal rocked back on his heels until his ankles made a little popping sound. He took a deep breath and seated himself at the foot of the bed. “Cloud didn’t ask me to yell at you. He said we should talk, and I think we probably should since you’re moving into the stage of feeling sorry for yourself.”

Genesis snorted and pulled the blankets back over his head. “Something wrong with feeling sorry for yourself?”

Angeal crossed his arms. “There is if it’s excessive and without reason.”

“Tough,” Genesis said, rolling over onto his stomach. “I only started today and I have damn good reason.”

“Reason you aren’t just imagining?” Angeal pried, poking at place he figured Genesis’s toes would be. Genesis jerked them away.

“Just because you don’t know what the reason is doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” The blankets tightened around the big lump on the bed. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d rather not be conned out of my glorious state of depression. I don’t do this kind very often and I’d appreciate it if you let it roll to the crying over sappy songs and gorging on ice-cream stage in peace. There’s a tub of that new Caramel Swirl flavor to try out.”

“Have your ice-cream now, Gen. We can chat over that.”

“I don’t want to.” He sounded more weary than petulant and that was enough to make Angeal pause. 

“Gen,” he began, leaning closer. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

The wait was full of heartbeats and ended with a hitched breath and a sigh. “Many things, Angeal. You can’t fix them all.” Genesis’s voice was strangely thick.

“I won’t try to,” Angeal said, taking a softer approach, “but you can tell me. Why are you still so mad at me?”

Genesis turned around. “That’s what this is about? You?”

Angeal frowned. “What else would it be about?”

Genesis glanced away, at the floor. “I thought you came to yell at me for hurting Cloud.”

“Did you?” Angeal asked. “He didn’t say anything so specific.”

Genesis seemed to shrink into the covers. “I roughed him up. I’ve been wanting to apologize and make it up to him, but he won’t come to see me to give me the chance.” Genesis looked so mournful that Angeal wanted to hug him. 

“Gen, Cloud and Zack have been out on a little run near Mideel for the past three days. I can bring up the duty roster if you want to see.” 

The smile on Genesis’s face actually lit up his eyes, something Angeal had not seen since coming back to this place. It was a good sight, even if it seemed too bright. “That’s good,” Genesis said and lay back down on the bed. “He’ll come back.”

“Why didn’t you just call him?” Angeal asked. 

Genesis sniffed. “I can’t ‘just call’ a cadet, Angeal. It would make his life hell.” 

Angeal had forgotten that little bit. He never had that problem with Zack. “There are other ways to get a message through, you know.”

“And risk word getting out and causing a company-wide scandal? Not a chance.” Genesis seemed to shrink under the sheets. “They wouldn’t touch me or Sephiroth, they need us too much.” 

Some things were easier with a love object who was already in reach. “You really care for him, don’t you?” Angeal asked.

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have kept him around if I didn’t.” Genesis sniffed again, a little harder. “You thought it was just the sex.”

“I never said that,” Angeal protested.

“You didn’t have to, Angeal,” Genesis grumbled, rolling up on himself. 

Angeal tried not to let his own irritation take over. They would never get anywhere if both of them stuck to a stubborn approach. “Why would you think that?” he asked, clearing his throat. There was no answer for some time.

Angeal was about to turn and go, maybe to make a spicy chicken soup that would tempt even Genesis when the blankets rustled again. “Angeal.” The name was almost a whisper. “Do you really trust me?”

Finally, progress. “Always, Gen, you know that.”

“I’m not sure I do,” came the faint reply. 

Angeal turned. “Gen.”

Genesis turned his head away. “Sometimes I wonder if you trust me at all.”

Of all the accusations to make. “Genesis, I trust you with my life.”

“But nobody else’s? Is that it?” Genesis sounded beyond weary. Angeal did not know what to make of it. Angry Genesis he could handle. This quiet, bitter resignation was something else. It did not help that Genesis could still just be playing him, working himself into a fit of the blues for the perverse joy of being there. 

“Gen…”

“Why didn’t you bring your puppy around right away?” Genesis asked, staring at the ceiling. He sounded lost. “Were you afraid I would hurt him? Was that it?”

“No!” Angeal approached the bed again, wanting to reach out and grab Genesis, if he could even get hold of the stubborn pig in that profusion of blankets. Genesis needed to have some sense shaken in and this mood shaken out. “I wanted time to make sure it was what Zack wanted too,” Angeal said, “and I wanted to make sure he knew the ground rules. It was never because I thought you would hurt him.”

“So why did you think I was hurting Cloud? Not just now, when you came in that night?” Genesis’s voice wavered unnaturally. He was strangely still on the bed. There was a slight sniffling sound. Angeal wasn’t sure what he was hearing. “You thought,” Genesis began, pausing to get his voice under control. “You thought it was rape, didn’t you?” 

That put the last lingering ember of anger out. “What else could I think, Gen?”

“How could you Angeal?” Genesis turned his head away, speaking to the far wall. He began to tremble beneath the blankets. “You really think deep down somewhere that I’d ever be capable of that.” His breath came in shallow sobs. 

Angeal leaned over, trying to get a look. “I had no clue you’d found somebody else.” Genesis’s face looked drawn and deathly pale. Angeal had only seen Genesis like this once before, early at the front in Wutai when they found out what had been done to Sephiroth there. Genesis would never admit it but Angeal was almost sure he had cried himself to sleep. “Cloud’s young,” Angeal continued, trying to roll Genesis out of the sheets and hold him. “He’s small and that scene I walked in on, well, what else would a person think?”

Gen shook his head weakly. “I could accept that from anybody, Angeal. From Lazard. The Turks. Old man Shinra himself. We were prepared to get caught, all of us. We knew what it would look like to everyone else. But not you, not you.” 

Angeal felt a surge of something like regret and let it go. “What makes me so special? I’m as human as all the rest.” He sank to the bed beside Genesis, feeling the mattress sink beneath his weight. 

The tilt forced Genesis to roll over slightly, but he refused to look Angeal in the eye. He did not appear to be looking at anything really, his eyes distant, his focus far away. “You’re my best friend. You're supposed to know me better than that,” he said, so quietly the words could hardly be heard. “You’re supposed to know me better than anyone.”

Angeal shook his head, trying to shake the weight of that failed responsibility off. “I can’t know _all_ your secrets, Gen.”

“You don’t.” 

Angeal stilled, surprised to numbness in the dark, while Genesis struggled to breathe evenly. “Gen,” Angeal asked, reaching over to stroke a damp cheek. “Gen, are you-?”

“Of course not,” Genesis snapped without much fire. He began scrubbing at his face with a sheet. “What did I just say about you knowing me better? You leave for months and forget all about me.”

The tightness growing inside Angeal begged for release. “Don’t be silly, Gen, I wouldn’t forget you.” It was a transparent attempt to lighten the mood, Angeal felt, but he had to try. “After all, you never forget your first.”

Genesis snorted and glanced back over his shoulder. “Yeah, I know. You were my first too.” 

Angeal was floored. “Gen?”

“You were. Didn’t you know?”

Angeal gaped like a fish, trying to make sense of things. “How could I? You… knew things. You came back from that camp and you _knew_ things.”

“I suppose I did.” Genesis turned away again, pressing his head hard into the pillows. “Camp that year was… very educational, I suppose. But I came home again. And I chose you.”

“Gen…”

“I _chose_ you, Angeal.”

Angeal did not know what caused the thickness in the air, but it was heavy and it weighed him down. “Genesis.” He stretched himself out on the bed, leaning over to reach Genesis’s face. Sometimes it was no good trying to puzzle out every last detail. Simple fixes could be good ones. He put an arm on either side of Genesis’s head and lowered his own till his forelocks brushed Genesis’s pale forehead. 

“I’m honored you chose me, Genesis. I love you. I always will.”

Genesis broke then, unable to stop the tears from running down his face. Angeal wrapped himself as tight as he could around Genesis, blankets and all. “I’m here,” he whispered, cradling Genesis’s head. “I’m here and I won’t leave you anymore. I love you, Gen.” 

Genesis reached out of the blankets to draw Angeal closer to him. “I know, you big ox,” he said, trying to get himself under control. Failing that, he settled for hiding his tear-streaked face against Angeal’s neck. “I love you too.”


	23. Recruitment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reconciliation provides opportunities for everyone to have fun. Zack and Cloud had some. Sephiroth refuses to be left out.

“Did you find them?” Cloud asked. 

Zack shook his head. “They have to be in the bedroom.”

Cloud eyed the two pairs of boots near the door. “There’s no screaming. That’s good, right? That means they’re not fighting anymore. You think they made up okay?”

Zack crossed his arms. “Maybe they’re not fighting because they already killed each other.” He circled around Cloud. “Even now their dismembered bodies could be lying scattered across the bedroom floor, body parts oozing life juices into the carpet as decay sets in. All that’s needed now is for someone to go investigate the strange smell.”

“Gaia, Zack!” Cloud smacked him. “You’re disgusting.” 

“Hey, a good SOLDIER considers all possibilities.” Zack stuck out his tongue. “So, who gets to go look in on them?”

“No way, Mister, I am not interrupting other people’s private time.” 

“And I’m not walking in on a crime scene, thanks.”

“Hmph.” Cloud snorted. “Some SOLDIER you are.”

“Hey, you want to put your DNA all over the murder weapons when the investigators come, that’s your business.” 

They stood in the kitchen doorway and contemplated their options. Zack lit up. “We could listen at the door!”

“Zack, that’s almost as bad as looking.” Cloud frowned. “Besides, I can’t hear like you do.”

“Soon enough, Chocobohead.” Zack bounced past to the dish rack. “In the meantime, use a glass!”

“Zack,” Cloud protested. “That’s what nosey neighbors do! Besides, what if they get mad and stick a sword through the door and it goes in my ear? Did you think about that? Did you?”

Zack folded his arms. “What if I use a glass too? That’ll cut the odds of them getting you in half. What do you say?”

“I say you can get yourself killed someday but make sure you put me somewhere out of the way first.” 

“You’re mean, Cloud.” Zack pouted. “Come on, let’s go.”

They tiptoed down the hallway, inching up on the door. “You first,” Zack said.

“Nuh-uh, you have the SOLDIER ears.”

“Fine,” Zack said. “Throw me to the wolves. Promise me you’ll at least shed a tear over my mauled and mangled corpse.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Cloud gave Zack a shove. “Well, hear anything?”

“Not so loud!” Zack whispered. “Give me a minute.” He gingerly pressed his ear against the door. “Nothing.”

“What?”

“Nothing. There’s nothing.”

“Here, use the glass.” Cloud held it out. 

“Why don’t you use the glass?”

“Because normal ears with a glass aren’t as good as SOLDIER ears with a glass. Now hurry up before they hear us.”

“Bossy, bossy,” Zack grumbled and crouched low against the door. He set the glass against the door and leaned against it, listening. Cloud hung back, watching the way Zack’s eyebrows moved when he concentrated. After a moment Zack shook his head. “Still nothing.”

Cloud’s shoulders drooped. “You don’t think they’re…”

Zack swallowed. He looked down at the gap under the door. “I don’t see any blood seeping out from under there, do you?”

Cloud blinked, twisting sweaty hands in the fabric of his combat pants. “What if they bashed each other to bits in the bathroom?”

Zack straightened up, alarmed. “Maybe Genesis drowned Angeal in the bathtub!”

“Maybe Angeal drowned Genesis in the toilet!”

The boys stared at each other, too wide-eyed for belief. Zack’s lips twitched first. “You wanna look?”

“No way!” Cloud shook his head. “What if they’re having a moment or something? I’m not interrupting that.” He glanced at the door. No light filtered through around the edges. “Besides, if they really did go too far…” Speculation was fun enough in its own odd way, but that was all the fun of that nature that Cloud could take. 

Zack seemed to agree. “Let Sephiroth find them first,” he said, nodding. “How about a movie?”

“Fine with me. I’ll get snacks, you pick something out.” Cloud skipped back down the hallway. “Not the porn!”

“Aww!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“In the _toilet?_” Genesis screwed up his face. “The indignity! Where do they get these ideas?”

“Too many gory movies is my guess,” Angeal said, stroking Genesis’s hair. It was as soft as Angeal remembered.

Genesis leaned into the touch. “Cloud doesn’t really like that kind of thing. At least he didn’t before your pup came along.” 

Angeal paused. “Are you saying Zack’s a bad influence?”

“Not at all.” Genesis yawned. “Cloud needs somebody who can get him to unwind like that. They’re good with each other.” He made a sound as if he had more to say, but it turned into a soft, contented purr. He nestled his head further into his pillows, closed his eyes and smiled. 

Angeal smiled with him, grateful for the gift of being allowed into his first love’s bed again, for the closeness of it. He had missed this. After the embarrassingly heartfelt confessions, Angeal had shed his belts and armor, stripped down to his shirt and shorts and nearly barrelled into the space Genesis made for him. There had been a kiss or two and Angeal would have dearly loved more, but Genesis was genuinely tired. He had even resisted Angeal’s attempt to undress him, claiming that he really felt cold. 

So Angeal had to settle for lying beside Genesis in half-sleep, content with soft touches and simply being together, and that was no problem at all. They had heard the young ones come in, of course. It was from a touch of Genesis’s perverse nature that they had stayed quiet, listening to every move. 

Angeal kept his touches light, marvelling at the feel of familiar skin beneath his hands. “Got a dry spot here, Gen,” he said, fingers tracing a slightly roughened spot on Genesis’ jawline.

“I ran out of moisturizer,” Genesis said, eyes fluttering slightly. “Been using a lot lately.”

It flickered across Angeal’s mind that Genesis might be seeing a resurgence of an odd rash he’d had as a child. It tended to flare up whenever Genesis’s parents fought. But it had not appeared in years. The mako should have taken care of it. Angeal inched closer, tangling his fingers in Genesis’s cinnamon-colored hair. The motion revealed something odd at the temple, a lone, brittle strand of grey. “Gen,” he whispered. 

“Mmm?” Genesis did open his eyes, but Angeal knew he was happy. 

“Nothing, love.” He kissed Genesis’s forehead, noting the temperature at the same time. It had been a degree or two over normal at first, but had fallen back to normal in short order. Angeal shifted, twining a leg over Genesis’s hip. The flannel pajama pants slid down some, revealing a taut stomach and Angeal’s favourite belly button. He had a half-second to admire it before Genesis tugged his shirt down to cover it, complaining of the cold. 

“How can you be cold?” Angeal scolded lightly. “You’ve got every blanket in the place on top of you.”

Genesis shrugged, still not opening his eyes. “I just feel like being snug.” 

Angeal inched even closer, wrapping his arms around Genesis. He stroked the firm body beneath the flannel and pressed light kisses all over the man’s face. “Is this better?”

Genesis tucked his head under Angeal’s chin. His breath was warm on Angeal’s chest. “It’s perfect.” He was quiet for so long that Angeal thought he had fallen asleep. It was enough for now, more than enough, that Genesis would share this with him. Angeal stared down the side of Genesis’s head, admiring the curve of shoulder bared by a neckline gone askew. Beautiful. They lay together in each other’s arms so long Angeal himself began to fall asleep.

“Hey, Angeal?” Genesis’s sleep-roughened voice cut through the silence.

“Yes, Gen?”

“How about later we throw some sheets over our heads and go give the little ones a good scare?”

Angeal grunted. “No wonder you and Zack get along.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Two plates of cookies, one action thriller flick with a ton of explosions and a jumbo bag of potato chips later and Cloud and Zack had succeeded in molding the couch leather to their behinds. Stripped down to shirts and shorts, they stretched out full length on the couch, tangled around each other like puppies cuddling from the cold. “Put another movie on,” Cloud whined. “The credits are all done.”

Zack stretched the best he could. “You put something else on. I got the last one. Besides, you’re on top. You move.”

“Aww, I don’t want to,” Cloud groaned. “You’re the SOLDIER. Put that mako power to use.”

Zack reached out to the coffee table, flailing ineffectively at the remote. “It’s not working,” he wailed. “Start hoofing it, trooper. You have entrance exams coming up. Back me up here, it’s good training.” Cloud groaned some more and wriggled around in ways that Zack was not inclined to complain about.

They were saved from the laziness race by the sound of the door. Cloud perked up right away. “Seph?”

“I’m home, Cloud,” Sephiroth called. Leather creaked against metal as he stripped his coat off by the door. Even barefoot he had a heavy step when he walked. Cloud felt Zack stiffen beneath him and was nice enough to hide his smirk. The urge to stand up and salute the General took its sweet time to fade. 

Sephiroth, utterly bare-chested, stopped at the couch and looked them over. “Where are the others?”

“Inside,” Cloud said, nodding towards the bedroom. “We think they made up.”

“Or they killed each other,” Zack blurted out too loudly. 

Sephiroth’s head tilted. His chest moved as if he breathed deeply but there was hardly any sound. “I don’t smell blood.” He frowned. “Or lube. Hmm.”

Cloud and Zack blinked at each other. “You think maybe they… talked?”

“It’s been known to happen.” Sephiroth shrugged, silver hair sliding off his shoulder. “What are you two up to?”

“We were watching a movie,” Cloud said, “but it’s done now.”

“Oh.” Sephiroth perched on the armrest and stared at the screen. “What do you two normally do after a movie?” Cloud and Zack shared a glance. Zack’s cheeks turned a telling shade of rose. Sephiroth smirked. “I see,” he said, running a finger down the sole of Cloud’s foot. 

“Quit it,” Cloud said, half-giggling. “Tickles!” Sephiroth deliberately did not quit anything, taking Cloud’s foot in one hand and stroking it gently, tugging at the toes. “Seph,” Cloud protested, kicking out with no real force. Sephiroth sank to his knees and bit Cloud’s instep. “Seph!” Cloud wailed. “I don’t want to.”

“Oh.” Sephiroth stopped immediately, dismay written on his face. One look at Cloud let him know it was sincere. Sephiroth stood. “Are you still sore? You should take a potion.” 

“It’s not that,” Cloud said. “You’re getting Zack worked up and I can’t take care of both of you right now.”

Sephiroth glanced over at Zack. The boy was trying to bury his face in the throw pillows. “Oh,” Sephiroth said, suddenly understanding. “Zack?” he asked, seeking an edge of the couch to sit on. “Zack?” he called again, one hand reaching to the young man’s back. 

Zack reluctantly pulled his head out from the cushions. “Yes, Sir?” 

Sephiroth smiled at him. It was a disarming smile, one that Sephiroth had never been able to use deliberately. He wore it now and Zack’s heart fluttered. “Do you need some help with that, Zack?”

Zack turned his eyes to the prominent bulge in his shorts. “Oh, man,” he wailed and hid his face in his hands. Of all the things to happen in front of the General. Zack busied himself trying to think unsexy thoughts. He completely missed the look Cloud gave the General, the hand Cloud placed on Sephiroth’s arm and the silent communiqué that passed between them. 

Zack felt Cloud stretching out on top of him again, slender legs sliding alongside his own. “Zack,” Cloud said. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt. Don’t you want to try?” Zack groaned and tried to twist his hips out of sight. He only succeeded in grinding his erection against Cloud’s leg. Sephiroth sat back, immensely pleased with the show. 

“Zack,” Cloud said again, slithering upwards to tease Zack’s earring. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right here.” 

Zack peered out, blinking into the light. “You won’t laugh?”

Cloud bit back the very thing. Sephiroth leaned in. “What’s to laugh about, Zack?” he asked, brushing the boy’s bangs aside. “Certainly not you.” Zack made a silent cry, unable to look away from the General.

Cloud nuzzled the side of Zack’s face. “Zack? You want to?” Zack tried to answer but couldn’t find his voice. He nodded, lost in Sephiroth’s eyes. Sephiroth’s rare sweet smile took on a sinister slant but he moved too fast for Zack to change his mind. 

“Help him undress, Cloud,” he instructed and Cloud complied, working his hands under Zack’s knit shirt. Zack could not do much more than gasp for air. Cloud’s weight was on him. Cloud’s fingers were circling his nipples. Cloud’s lips were on his skin. 

“It’s okay,” Cloud whispered. “I’m right here.” He raised Zack’s shirt, baring lightly tanned skin. “Zack, I’ll need a little help here.” Cloud tugged the shirt upwards, trying to get it past Zack’s bare, peaking nipples.

“Leave it,” Sephiroth said. “I like this look on him.” Cloud nodded and worked his way down Zack’s body, pressing a trail of moist kisses down the plane of Zack’s stomach. 

“Cloud!” Zack cried, arching his back as a wicked tongue dipped into his navel. Sephiroth exhaled heavily, eyes glowing with appreciation. Zack could hardly bear it. He wanted to look away but Sephiroth held him transfixed, eye to eye, reading his every move. 

“You can stop us anytime, Zack,” the General said. His voice had a smoothness to it and Zack felt himself shiver in response. “Anytime, Zack.” Zack swallowed. 

Nimble fingers worked their way under his waistband, tangling in wiry curls. Zack bit his lips together and mewled. At Sephiroth’s sign, Cloud stopped and Zack’s quiet mewling became a wail. “Zack,” Sephiroth said, leaning closer again. “Do you want this? Do you really want this?”

Zack cursed his mouth for betraying him at this crucial point. What good was a chatty nature if it deserted at the worst possible moment? Zack glanced from one man to the other and made his move. He reached with both hands, one tangling in Cloud’s bright hair, the other reaching around Sephiroth’s head, pulling him down. Sephiroth did not need a second invitation. He met Zack’s lips with sweet, clasping kisses, licking at lips that readily parted for him. Zack moaned into the kiss, soon going breathless at the enormity of it, that he was kissing General Sephiroth, world-renowned hero. 

Sephiroth pulled back too soon, leaving Zack cold and whimpering. “Hey, it’s okay,” Cloud said, rutting slowly against Zack’s leg. “We still have to get your clothes off.” 

Sephiroth inclined his head. “Lift your hips, Zack. Let Cloud get you ready.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Zack breathed, words returning to him. 

Sephiroth stood to give them space and took the opportunity to retrieve the lube Genesis kept under the lamp for just such an occasion. The tube was half-finished already. Sephiroth gave a speculative look at the young men on the couch, the one lifting his hips and the other sliding boxer shorts off with practiced ease. Genesis’s couch was getting more action than the man realized. 

“Here,” Sephiroth said, tapping Cloud on the shoulder. Cloud took the tube and got to work, slicking two fingers right in Zack’s view. 

Zack was gasping again. He could not meet the General’s eyes this time and settled for staring at the man’s impeccable chest. Sephiroth was getting undressed for him too, hands working slowly at the belts. It helped, but only a little. Zack felt cold fingers circling his entrance and fought the urge to shut his legs and pull away. He had not been shy in front of any of the others. This should not be any different. 

But it was General Sephiroth staring down at him, General Sephiroth undoing belt buckles and slipping leather pants down, General Sephiroth standing ready to have him. Zack felt his mouth go dry. His cock jumped in Cloud’s hand, openly eager while Zack himself could only wait. 

At Sephiroth’s nod, Cloud slid two fingers into Zack, taking his time with it, keeping it slow. Sephiroth returned to the edge of the seat and brushed Zack’s wild hair aside. “Has he done this for you before?”

“Uh, yeah,” Zack said, voice catching. His toes twitched, seeking purchase in black leather. Sephiroth’s hands were on him, trailing along bare skin, tugging at the shirt that lay bunched under Zack’s arms. “We’ll take it slow,” Sephiroth was saying, his voice low and smooth. “You’ll like that, won’t you?”

Zack gathered his breath. “Yeah, yeah, I think so.” Cloud’s fingers were distracting, a third added now, and one hand making feathery trails along his cock. Zack twisted his hips again, angling for more. 

“I think he’s in a hurry,” Sephiroth said to Cloud. 

Cloud tossed a knowing smile at Zack. “He usually is.” Sephiroth cupped Cloud’s face in one hand and kissed him, drawing everything out of Cloud that he had to give in a kiss as repayment to Zack for the show he had made. 

Sephiroth pulled away forcefully, leaving Cloud panting. “Hold him,” he said, and Cloud moved up Zack’s torso again. Sephiroth did not waste anymore time himself, grabbing Zack’s ankles and situating himself between them. He yanked hard and pulled Zack towards him. 

Zack cried out in surprise, lunging upwards. “Slow!” he cried. “You said slow!”

Sephiroth smirked. “So I did. Give him the lube, Cloud.” 

Cloud fished the lube out from the cushions, sliding around Zack as he did. “Here,” he said, passing the tube to Zack. “Lie back. I’m right here with you.” Zack did, slowly resting his weight on Cloud’s body. Cloud’s arms came up around his chest, short nails clawing playfully. Cloud settled his chin over Zack’s shoulder, holding Zack’s body between spread thighs. Zack could feel Cloud’s cock against his back.

Sephiroth positioned himself closer, lifting Zack’s knees. “Touch me, Zack. Use the lube.” Cloud nibbled Zack’s ear in silent encouragement. 

It was a struggle at first, getting the tube open. Zack squeezed out too much in his haste and it dripped across his stomach. Cloud laughed lightly, scooping it up and smearing it along Zack’s chest. “Messy puppy.” Zack yipped once and reached out for Sephiroth. He worked his hands down as much of the length as he could, returning to stroke the head when it wrung a groan from the man.

Cloud bucked slowly under Zack, stroking his body with utmost care. He sucked Zack’s earring into his mouth, then let it slide free again in favor of marking Zack’s neck. Sephiroth’s eyes glowed beneath heavy lids as he looked on. Cloud continued to nuzzle as much of Zack as he could reach. “Squeeze him,” he whispered when Sephiroth’s eyes were half-closed. “He likes that.”

Zack got the best grip he could from that position and squeezed lightly. Sephiroth inhaled sharply, eyes tightly shut, but he did not make a sound. He caught Zack’s hands, stilling their motion. With a deep sigh, Sephiroth reigned himself in and turned the most brilliant mako eyes on the Planet on one hapless young SOLDIER. “You’re ready,” he said and pressed forward.

Zack gasped as he always did on being entered, going rigid at the first thrust before giving in. He locked his legs around Sephiroth’s body and gave the man a grin. Sephiroth moaned his approval and began to move. 

It was a steady pace, faster than Angeal’s when he was taking it slow. Cloud murmured sweet encouragement in Zack’s ear, keeping time with his own hips grinding against Zack’s back. Zack caught on and began to move, his eyes on the man above him. The thrill inside him grew. As boyhood went, there were dreams and there were _dreams_ and one of Zack’s very secret ones was coming true. He almost burst out laughing. 

“Having fun?” Sephiroth raised one eyebrow.

“Yes, Sir!” Zack’s voice was back and with it, his brashness. He reached out and grabbed Sephiroth around the shoulders, pulling the man down on top of him. Cloud grunted from the added weight but continued unabated, running his hands up Zack’s body, scratching and soothing in turn. 

Sephiroth took the move as a call for more. He hooked Zack’s knees on his shoulders and gave Zack exactly what he craved. Silver hair fell around them, long strands sticking to Zack’s damp skin. Cloud was making hungry little sounds into the side of Zack’s neck. Sephiroth leaned down further, bending Zack almost in half to kiss both young men on their heads. “Touch him, Cloud.”

Cloud nodded, reaching down. Sephiroth shifted to give him room and hit the perfect angle of entry. “Gaia!” Zack cried and continued in a stream of profanity-laced pleading. 

“Does Angeal like it when you talk dirty?” Sephiroth asked. “Because I do.”

The admission fried the last functioning circuit in Zack’s brain, wringing a final cry out of him like a confession. He arched into Sephiroth’s body, wracked with pleasure. The General held his gaze, immensely satisfied. Zack sank back to the couch and Cloud’s waiting arms. Zack could feel a certain wetness spilling across his back. He turned to check on Cloud and found him licking his hands clean. 

Sephiroth made to pull out but Zack would not let him. “It’s okay,” he said. “Finish up. I can handle it.”

Sephiroth nodded, smiling his secret smile again in gratitude for that gift of trust. He was slow and careful, watching Zack closely for any sign of discomfort. Zack nestled back against Cloud, too limp and sated to complain at all. He took one of Cloud’s sticky hands and began tracing it with his tongue, doing his share. 

Sephiroth sighed deeply above them. They truly were a lovely pair and he had just had them all to himself. It was a wondrous thing. Zack and Cloud bent their heads together. Faces flushed, eyes closed, mouths turned to smiling, they made a perfect picture of sensual delight. Sephiroth shuddered and let go.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Angeal?”

“Yes, Gen?”

“Was that what it sounded like?”

“I believe it was.”

“About damned time.”


	24. Heavy Artillery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angeal and Cloud find a way to bond.

It was not Angeal’s way to sing in the kitchen or the shower or anywhere else but today he felt like humming. The kettle joined him. It was an old-fashioned thing that whistled. The pots on the stove bubbled away and Angeal flattered himself that the sounds of cooking masked his disjointed attempts at a tune. 

He heard the door open and quickly cleared his throat. “Who is it?” he asked.

“It’s me,” Cloud called. “What are you cooking? It smells great!” Cloud stuck his head in the kitchen, obviously still struggling with his boots. “What is that?”

“It’s just a pot roast,” Angeal said, reaching for a knife. He kept his smile carefully hidden. Young men, always hungry. 

Cloud kicked his feet free and nearly stumbled inside. “Can I have some?”

“Not yet,” Angeal chided softly. “It’s not done.”

Pert lips bent into a little pout. “Aww. When is it going to be ready?” Cloud did not have the same pleading puppy face Zack did. He was used to making straightforward requests and even demands. There would have been something terrifying about that earnest stare if it didn’t come from somebody so short. 

“A few hours yet,” Angeal said, giving in to the urge to ruffle Cloud’s hair. Soft and stubborn, just like Zack’s. What were the odds? But Cloud looked so downcast that Angeal could not ponder long. “What’s the matter?”

“In a few hours Zack will get here,” Cloud said, eyes moving furtively to the door. “He’s a food vacuum!”

Angeal burst out laughing. “True enough. But don’t worry. It’s an extra big roast and I made plenty of side dishes to fill him up. I won’t let him starve the rest of us.”

“Promise?” Cloud looked so serious, Angeal was hard-pressed not to laugh some more. 

“I promise, Cloud.” Angeal finally removed his hand from the boy’s hair. “Why don’t you have some cookies out of the jar in the meantime?”

Cloud turned his head to look at the jar, a huge, ceramic apple. Genesis had justified the purchase despite the tacky paint job by claiming that every home needed some kitsch. Cloud sighed and shook his head. “No, it’s okay. For something that smells like this, I’ll wait. I don’t want to spoil my appetite.” 

Angeal silently commended Cloud’s self-control. Zack didn’t have it, though to be fair, with all the mako running in him, he didn’t need it either. “Are you sure? I made dinner rolls too.” Angeal waved at the cloth covered trays on the counter behind him. 

Cloud’s eyes went wide. He stepped closer, taking a whiff of air beyond the oven. The scent of meat cooking in a broth of onions and red wine had masked the scent, but closer, he could detect the fragrance of fresh homemade bread. “Wow.” 

“Grab some butter,” Angeal said. “Take the edge of your appetite. One roll won’t hurt.”

“Yeah.” Cloud’s eyes glazed over. “Wow.” He stumbled over to the counter and lifted the edge of the cloth. Beneath it, golden brown tops glossy from a basting of melted butter, lay perfect rolls, still warm. “Angeal, this is amazing.” Cloud chose the roll in the corner, holding it in both hands with pure reverence.

Angeal shrugged. “It’s just home cooking. I like doing it whenever there’s the time.”

“It’s… it’s….” Cloud was nearly speechless. He took a bite, eyes fluttering closed. The taste drew a moan from him that was full of longing for something that seemed so far away now.

Angeal looked away, clearing his throat. “Never seen anyone react to bread like that before.”

“It’s so good!” Cloud slowly opened his eyes, looking utterly transported. “I haven’t had bread this good since… I left home.” Cloud blinked down at the bitten roll, admitting to himself for the first time that maybe there was something to miss about the place.

“What, Gen and Seph never baked bread for you?” Angeal said, shaking his hands off in the sink before reaching for a towel. 

“They tried,” Cloud said, wide eyes staring far into the distance. “Once.”

“I see.” Apparently Angeal had come back just in time. “So where is home again? Nibelheim, right?

“Yeah.” Cloud took another nibble, looking like some small, furry woodland creature nibbling at nuts. 

Angeal reached for the potato masher. “I’ve never been there. What’s it like?”

“Cold.” Cloud took a seat and stared at the soft inside of the bread. “Lots of mountains. Long winters.” He looked down at the roll and tested its softness with his fingers. “My mother bakes bread for the week. Baking day’s the best in the winter. The whole house heats up from the oven and the smell of fresh bread is everywhere.” 

Angeal could not take his eyes off Cloud’s face, away from that open longing. It was easy to see why someone would have to urge to spoil the boy. “You miss home?”

Cloud snapped back to reality. “Not so much. Your bread is great too.” He smiled up at Angeal and took another bite. 

“Don’t you want some butter for that?” Angeal asked.

Cloud shook his head, munching happily. “No, it’s good as it is.”

“Shoot,” Angeal said, teasing. “I was hoping I could con you into getting the butter out for me.” He went to the fridge and pulled out the butter dish. “Oh, don’t worry,” he said, seeing Cloud’s stunned, sheepish expression. “It wasn’t an order, I was just being lazy.” He felt like humming again, but he wouldn’t with Cloud in the room. 

Cloud chewed a big bite thoroughly and watched as Angeal gathered salt, pepper and sour cream to go with the butter. Angeal set a large basin against his hip and made his way to the table to work. Cloud peered into the basin when Angeal set it down. “Are you making mashed potatoes?” His voice had a quaver to it when he was excited.

“I certainly am.” Angeal wanted to ruffle Cloud’s hair again, but he wouldn’t with food in front of him. “How do you like yours?”

“With butter,” Cloud said. “You could have told me it was for potatoes. I’d definitely get you the butter for that.”

Angeal grinned. “You like them, huh? Just the butter?”

Cloud shrugged. “Nibelheim food isn’t very fancy. Not like what Gen does.”

Angeal snorted. “Let me guess, four kinds of cheese, crushed garlic and a whole bunch of herbs.”

“Yes!” Cloud nodded hard. “And wasabi, one time.”

Angeal winced. “How was that?”

“Green.” 

Angeal winced again. “Well, you know Gen, always looking to experiment.”

“Mmhmm.” Cloud finished the last bite of his roll and sighed. 

“You can have another, you know,” Angeal said, slicing thick pats of butter. “Get them while they’re hot.”

“No, I’ll wait,” Cloud said, his eyes firmly on the bowl. Angeal moved with the efficiency of long practice. He didn’t stop once to measure the way Sephiroth always did. The butter went in along with a spoon of sour cream and a pinch of salt. A quick twist of the pepper mill finished the job and Angeal went to work, pressing the potatoes into paste with no effort at all. Cloud’s eyes moved from the bowl, up Angeal’s bare, flexing arms. The man looked happy when he worked like this. Cloud ducked his head and smiled. 

“You want it completely smooth or are lumps okay?” Angeal asked, never ceasing. 

“I don’t mind a few lumps,” Cloud said. 

“Good!” Angeal grinned. “I like to leave a few in to make Gen complain.” Cloud burst out laughing with him. 

“You two got it all sorted out?” Cloud asked. From his smirk he clearly knew the answer.

“Yeah,” Angeal allowed, drifting over the memory of a shared, sweet night, and several more after it, of Genesis beneath him, breathless, welcoming and yielding. Angeal cleared his throat and blinked. “Everything okay with you too?”

“Yeah, he made it up to me,” Cloud said with a knowing, contented smile of his own. 

“I saw,” Angeal said, trying to keep it below prying level. “That bubble bath and the foot massage thing.”

“Mmhmm.” Cloud did not blush but he look away. The smile grew. Angeal was well-acquainted with Genesis’s way of putting that smile on a face. 

“Here,” he said, holding out a small spoon. “Taste it and tell me if we need more salt.” He got a spoon for himself and they both dug in together, carving twin furrows in the mash. They licked their spoons clean and tasted thoughtfully. “Well?” Angeal asked.

Cloud looked hopeful. “More butter?” 

“I thought so.” Angeal carefully cut a wedge of butter from the end of the stick, then stood there debating with himself for a while. 

“Angeal?” Cloud was concerned.

“What the hell,” Angeal said and dunked the bulk of the stick into the bowl, leaving the little wedge to fall over all by its lonesome. He got to work mashing it all in together while there was heat to help melt things through. 

Cloud watched Angeal’s shoulders as he worked because the man’s arms were a blur. “Wow.” 

“There,” Angeal said, whipping the potato masher out and grabbing clean spoons. “That should be good enough for anyone. Want to try it now?” 

“Sure!” Cloud would have jumped onto the table for a taste this time. They filled their spoons together, trying to get as much as they could without looking greedy. Angeal was more than satisfied with the flavor. Sometimes a little indulgence was a good thing.

Cloud made a happy sigh. He looked transported. “That… is perfect.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“But that little bit of butter looks lonely now,” Cloud said.

“Hmm.” Angeal made a swipe with the butter knife and set the rest of the butter on top. It immediately began to melt. 

Cloud set his chin down on the table, giggling slightly. “Butter river goes down Potato Mountain.”

“What?” 

“It’s just something my mother used to tell me when I was little.” Cloud leaned back, unable to meet Angeal’s eyes all of sudden. His face looked a little pink. 

“Yours too, eh?” Angeal said, leaning over. “My mother used to decorate the mountain with little trees.” Cloud looked up. “Oh, yeah,” Angeal said. “To make me eat my cauliflower.”

Cloud smiled. It was bright and beautiful and before Angeal knew what he was doing, he had leaned over and kissed the boy’s forehead. He froze in place at the realization of what he had just done, still close enough to feel the warmth radiating from Cloud’s soft skin, and in that moment Cloud turned his head up and gave Angeal a kiss of his own. 

Cloud’s lips were very soft, soft and moist, and he kissed like a little bird, with gentle, cautious motions. Angeal would have pulled away but a hand reached up to caress his cheek, holding him in place more effectively than a vice. Angeal returned Cloud’s delicate pecks with careful nibbles of his own. He couldn’t help himself. He did not want to. 

Cloud tilted his head back. His fingers trailed along Angeal’s jaw in a silent invitation. Angeal followed, sliding out of his chair, seeking to part Cloud’s lips with his tongue. Cloud received Angeal’s attention willingly, with a perfect sigh. Angeal lost himself in the warmth. Cloud tasted of butter, which only made sense. Angeal chuckled against Cloud’s mouth. 

“What?” Cloud asked, tilting his head aside. His spikes bobbed with the motion. He looked like curious cockatoo. 

Angeal smiled. “You taste like butter,” he said.

“Oh.” Cloud shrugged. “So do you.” And he reached up to kiss Angeal again. 

There was no holding back this time, no hesitant exploration. Angeal held Cloud’s head in one large hand, holding him in place. Cloud wrapped his arms around Angeal’s neck and melted against him. Cloud was small, so much smaller than anyone Angeal had had recently, and the feel of that slender body leaning against his sent an undue thrill down to Angeal’s toes. He straightened but Cloud did not let go. 

“What is it?” Cloud asked, eyes fluttering open. Up close, his lips were lusciously kiss-reddened.

Angeal swallowed. “Is this okay?”

Cloud blinked. “Of course it is.” Angeal nodded once to himself, satisfied, then rose, pulling Cloud up out of his seat. He wrapped both arms around Cloud’s back, pulling the boy close. Cloud was as slender as he looked, but his body was becoming lean muscle. A firm youthful body was hard to ignore. Angeal hissed at the growing feel of confinement. That would not do. He hoisted Cloud upwards, pleased that Cloud’s legs wrapped reflexively around his hips for the journey. Angeal tightened his grip and made to leave.

“The roast!” Cloud cried.

“It’s fine,” Angeal said, nearly growling. “We have a few hours.”

“Okay.”

Angeal stumbled twice on the way to the bedroom but Cloud did not mind. They collapsed onto the bed together in a blur of hands. Angeal indulged in one more searing kiss before pulling away. He stood at the foot of the bed and stared down. Cloud lay there breathing heavily, wantonly spread for him, belt undone, clothing askew. Angeal’s eyes were drawn to the sliver of skin exposed beneath Cloud’s shirt. 

Cloud shakily propped himself up on his elbows. “Angeal?” His voice was roughened and deeper than Angeal would have expected from someone his size. But then, looking at Cloud now, it was clear he wasn’t that young. There was length to his legs. There was definition to his face. There was heat in his eyes. 

“I want to look at you,” Angeal heard himself say. “I want to see all of you.” Cloud reached up to unbutton his shirt. “No, don’t!” Angeal said. “Stay still. I want to look at you.” He leaned over, brushing Cloud’s hands away. “I’ll do it. Just lie back and let me.” 

Cloud exhaled heavily, eyes sparkling. Angeal felt the telltale press of Cloud’s arousal against his thigh. “Shh,” he said, although Cloud made no sound. Angeal was careful not to put his full weight down, leaning to one side so he could caress Cloud with a free hand and take the time to slow himself down. Cloud was a pretty thing to look at from any angle. Up close he was a work of art. 

His hair was soft, bright gold right down to the roots. It rebounded stubbornly under Angeal’s touch. His eyes were a bright shade of blue that would take well to mako’s glow. Right now, they were beautiful without, and they were trained on Angeal’s face, tracking his intent rather than his moves. “It’s okay, Cloud,” Angeal whispered, running a hand down Cloud’s face. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I know.”

Angeal pulled at Cloud’s shirt, working at the buttons one by one. The skin beneath was pale and very lightly freckled. Angeal ran his hand up and down Cloud’s chest and watched Cloud’s nipples tighten in the cool air. Angeal dragged a nail across one, drawing a hiss from Cloud. “You like that?” he asked. Cloud nodded. “Good,” Angeal said. “Tell me anytime you don’t.”

Cloud nodded again. “Banana and strawberry,” he said. 

“Huh?” Angeal paused. 

“My safewords,” Cloud said. “Banana and strawberry.”

Angeal puzzled out the combination and chuckled. Suddenly so much made sense. He leaned over and kissed Cloud’s chest, working his way down in a slow line. Cloud went limp on the sheets, content to let Angeal do as he pleased. Angeal took in the smile on Cloud’s face and dipped his tongue into Cloud’s navel. That drew a soft cry and Cloud’s body tensed. His lips parted so prettily when he cried out. Angeal licked at Cloud’s skin until the boy quivered beneath him. 

He took his time with the pants, undoing the button so slowly that Cloud lifted his head to see what was taking so long. “Lie still,” Angeal instructed and Cloud let himself sink into the bedding again. He was good at taking orders here. Angeal could get used to that. He undid the zipper with maddening care, taking time to let each metallic click have its say. Cloud was whimpering by then and it was not hard to see why. 

“Do you need me to touch you?” Angeal asked, brushing his fingers over Cloud’s clothed erection. Cloud nodded hard, almost beyond words with need. “I will,” Angeal said. He slid Cloud’s pants down and hooked fingers in the waistband of Cloud’s shorts. “I’ll take care of you, Cloud.” He pulled downwards and let Cloud’s cock spring free. 

It was pulsing and perfectly proportioned. Angeal lowered his mouth to it, feeling Cloud’s eyes on him. He looked up, locked gazes and tilted his head to press a quick kiss to the side. Cloud groaned in frustration. His cock bobbed for more. Angeal licked the flavor of it off his lips and went lower, nuzzling Cloud’s balls.

“Mm, Gaia,” Cloud gasped. Angeal pulled away, not wanting to end things so soon. He was careful, mindful of his strength as he worked to pull Cloud completely free of clothing. Cloud was willing and pliant, but obedient as well, letting Angeal take care of him as instructed. Angeal set Cloud’s nude form back down on the sheets and ran his fingers from face to toes. Cloud quaked with a young man’s eagerness. He whimpered, but softly, making tiny noises in the back of his throat. Angeal wondered what it would take to bring them out in fullness. 

He worked his way back up Cloud’s body with care, tracing the ancient lines of life’s flow on Cloud’s skin with lips and gentle fingers. He took his time to learn Cloud’s ways, the catch of his breath when teeth brushed against his ankle, how he pulled at the sheets when someone licked the backs of his knees, the way he threw his head back at the slightest breath on his inner thigh. Cloud spread himself willingly and waited for Angeal to move. 

Angeal kissed his way along the curve of Cloud’s hip before turning to give the boy's cock the attention it badly needed. “What do you want, Cloud?” he whispered, letting his breath play over the head. “Tell me.” Cloud made a soft, lingering cry. Angeal held Cloud’s hips steady and kissed the tip of Cloud's cock, sliding his tongue against the slit. Cloud bucked in Angeal’s grasp, calling out with a wordless cry. “More?” Angeal asked. Cloud nodded hard. 

Angeal prowled up Cloud’s body on hands and knees, bending low to tease Cloud’s chest. He was very aware of the whispered pleas. Angeal nipped at Cloud’s collarbone and buried his face against a pale throat. Cloud tilted his head back, baring himself in submission to Angeal’s mercy. Angeal ground his hips against Cloud’s leg, seeking control. He slid one arm under Cloud’s slender shoulders and bit fiercely at tender skin, seeking to mark this small trooper, to let everyone know he was claimed. 

Cloud’s control slipped. He grabbed at Angeal’s hair, seeking something to work his fingers into. He did not pull Angeal away. Cloud’s mouth worked as he tried to gather enough breath for words. “More,” he said, voice breaking. “More!”

Angeal was in no mood to refuse. He sat back on his knees with Cloud’s legs splayed around him. “Toss me the lube,” he ordered, pulling off his shirt. Cloud stretched out as far as he could to grab the bottle from the nightstand. He looked back just as Angeal was unfastening his belts and froze, lube in hand. Angeal paused. “What is it?”

Cloud shook his head, utterly mute. Angeal took in Cloud’s stunned expression and the way Cloud’s eyes lingered over his body. Was it possible that this sweet piece of ass Angeal had been admiring from a distance for a while had also been admiring him in return? Angeal felt a surge of pride. And he hadn’t even taken his pants off yet. 

He worked them off slowly, easing his shorts off his hips. The expression that crossed Cloud’s face when he saw what he was in for would later be counted among Angeal’s sweetest triumphs. Wordlessly, Cloud held the bottle of lube out. Angeal took it with a smile. He coated himself liberally and slicked the fingers of one hand. “I’ll take my time.”

He trailed slick fingers down Cloud’s erection, over and around the tightening sac to circle the opening below. One finger went in easily and Angeal worked it back and forth. Cloud breathed deeply, slow and steady, relaxing himself to receive Angeal. A second finger joined the first. Cloud took it easily, long used to such attention. Angeal added a third. Cloud groaned a little but not with pain. His heels dug into the mattress as he sought to bear himself down on Angeal’s hand. “Easy, easy,” Angeal coaxed, adding a fourth finger far sooner than he usually preferred. Cloud cried out and began to gasp. 

Angeal was careful with the preparation, moving his fingers slowly in and out. Cloud was tight but he knew how to relax his body and he was clearly no stranger to being penetrated. Still, he was a slender young man and Angeal’s hands were large. Angeal slid his fingers in as far as they could go, wringing rough cries from Cloud. Angeal imagined what it would be like to complete the job, to curl his thumb in and fist Cloud properly, to feel the boy writhing around him. He was almost there with Zack. Angeal shook his head. Later, when there was time for discussion. Cloud’s cock was bouncing with every jerk of his hips and Angeal did not want to wait anymore. 

He removed his hand and moved in, his cock slapping against Cloud’s thigh. Angeal kissed Cloud’s lips, moistening them with his tongue. He hovered over the boy, memorizing every detail of his face. Blue eyes blinked up at him, expectantly. “Are you ready?” Angeal asked. Cloud nodded. Angeal took in the sight of Cloud’s hands tugging at the sheets and the leather cuffs still attached to the headboard. “Uh, do you need me to tie you down or anything?”

Cloud laughed. “No,” he said. “I like it but I don’t need it.” He reached up with one hand to pull Angeal in for another kiss, and down with the other hand to guide Angeal in. Angeal arched his back as Cloud’s body enveloped him. He had to stop, catch his breath. Cloud was mercilessly tight around him, and very hot. Angeal calmed himself as much as he could stand and rocked his hips forward by degrees.

Cloud could not even scream, focussed entirely on the sensation of being stretched and thoroughly filled. His legs flailed helplessly before he regained the sense to wrap them around Angeal. His ankles locked against the small of Angeal’s back and that was all the encouragement the SOLDIER needed. Angeal wrapped his arms tight around Cloud’s body and began to move. 

He was heavy on Cloud, his full weight bearing down, but they were both beyond caring. Angeal lost himself in a warm body, taking in everything that was different and new. It had been so long since he had taken a lover so much smaller than himself, but Cloud had weight to him, and sound and fire. His voice was rough in Angeal’s ear. His breath was hot on Angeal’s skin. Angeal pressed in harder, wanting to hear the slick sounds of their bodies joining. Cloud writhed against him, seeking pressure of his own. He wasn’t like Zack, not as big, nowhere as loud. He wasn’t a teenager seeking his first experience. Cloud had plenty experience of his own and wasn’t shy about using it. 

Cloud twisted and clenched down in a way that left Angeal breathless. Angeal sped up in return, determined not to be outdone by some stripling youth with swivelling hips. Cloud called out his name, the sound forced out of him with each heavy thrust. “An… geal,” he cried.

“Yes,” Angeal growled. “Again!” He reached between them to give Cloud a hand, rearing up on his knees for a different angle. Cloud made a sharp cry, a writhing mass of helplessness beneath Angeal. “Come on,” Angeal coaxed, indulging the urge to dominate. “I want to see the look on your face, Cloud, the look when you come.”

Cloud opened his eyes, staring directly up at Angeal, familiar with the request. “That’s it,” Angeal said, smoothing hair away from Cloud’s face. “Come for me, Cloud. Let me see you.” Cloud bit his lips and tightened his legs. Angeal tightened his grip, giving Cloud the pressure he sought. Cloud’s breath hitched and his eyes fluttered. Angeal swore he could hear the boy’s heart pounding, running counterpoint with the racing thud of his own. He locked eyes with Cloud, opening himself to Cloud exactly as he was demanding himself. “Beautiful,” Angeal said. “Beautiful little chickabo.”

Cloud flushed from his chest up, arching backwards with eyes shut tight. Angeal felt Cloud tightening all around and the warm fluid splatter and smear between them. Cloud’s voice was lost. Angeal held him through it, held him and held onto him, because Angeal couldn’t hold on much longer. 

It overtook Angeal with sudden ease. His body wracked as he emptied himself into Cloud with a final fevered thrust. The sound of his blood pulsing filled his ears and the world behind his closed eyes was mako bright. 

He was still on Cloud when he came to. On him and in him. Cloud was limp beneath him, eyes half-closed, one hand tracing the curve of Angeal’s bicep. Angeal tried to lift himself off but he could not find the willpower. “Cloud?”

“Mmm?”

“Am I too heavy for you?”

“No,” Cloud breathed. “You’re good.”

Angeal lay listening to Cloud’s breathing for a while before deciding it was definitely time to get up. Cloud made a plaintive sound as their bodies parted, but he didn’t have the strength to move. Angeal fumbled for the wipes Genesis kept nearby for just such an occasion. “Here,” he said, trying to clean Cloud up. “We were messy.”

“Was good,” Cloud said, too tired to form full sentences. Angeal dabbed at him carefully, cleaning Cloud with care, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. Angeal cleaned up what he could of the spill thoroughly before easing Cloud’s legs closed and taking a stab at himself. 

“What do you usually do?” he asked, “You know, afterwards.”

“Hmm?” Cloud rolled halfway over. “Sleep. Hug.”

Angeal smiled. “Fine with me.”

“You sure?” Cloud asked. “Don’t have to. I'm not Zack. Or Gen.”

“What, you think I wouldn’t want to cuddle with you, Cloud?” Angeal leaned over and kissed Cloud’s forehead. "I don't leave my lovers unsatisfied."

Cloud gave him a lazy, lopsided smiled. “Thought maybe you’d want to check the pot roast.”

“Oh, right!” Angeal spun around and stumbled out to the kitchen, completely naked. 

Cloud sighed happily and closed his eyes. He was only vaguely aware of Angeal crawling back into bed with him, mumbling something about the oven timer. Warm arms went around him and there was a wonderfully broad chest to go with it. Plus the whole place smelled like food. This was comfort. Cloud fell asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Angeal,” Genesis called out, storming into the bedroom. “You left lumps in the mashed potatoes again! Why do you keep doing that? You know how I… like… it.” Genesis stood in the doorway and stared. 

Angeal and Cloud lay together in bed, nude beneath the sheets, exchanging smiles and soft words, and exploring each other’s faces. They both turned when they realized Genesis was at the door, contentment plain on their faces. 

“Hi, Gen,” Cloud said, wiggling his toes under the covers.

Genesis approached the bed, endlessly amused. “Well, Cloud,” he said, playfully fluffing a pillow. “I take it the soda can rule no longer applies.”


	25. Biological Warfare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genesis airs a secret talent

“That is it!” Genesis announced, stumbling out of the bedroom in a Mood. “We have got to start laying down some ground rules here.”

Sephiroth raised one lazy eyebrow at him. Angeal stepped out of the kitchen, spoon in hand. “What’s the matter, Gen?”

Genesis’s lips turned down as he tightened his grip on the comforter he had wrapped himself in. “I just woke up in a wet spot.”

“That’s nothing new.” Sephiroth turned his attention to other matters.

“It is when I didn’t put it there!” Genesis snapped. One hand snaked out of the comforter to push his hair back. “And it wasn’t there when I went to sleep!”

Angeal tilted his head and his spoon to keep the sauce from dripping. “So what you’re saying is…”

“Somebody,” Genesis started, “had the nerve to fuck right next to me in bed and didn’t wake me up to ask if I wanted in!”

Angeal shrugged. “Maybe you just looked that tired, Gen. Can’t blame people for wanting to let you rest.”

“They could have let me watch,” Genesis grumbled.

“Sorry, Gen.” Cloud leaned backwards to get a better view of Genesis from the floor. “You looked so peaceful there.”

“Yeah,” Zack put in, licking his lips. “We didn’t want to wake you.”

“See?” Angeal said. “Go back to bed, Gen. I’ll call you when the marinara’s done.”

“You two aren’t done either,” Sephiroth said, weaving his hands into spiky hair to guide Zack and Cloud back into position. “Back to work.”

Genesis scowled. “You’re a jerk, Seph.”

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair. “Not my fault you missed the show.” Genesis humphed and stumbled back to bed, struggling to ignore the sounds. Sephiroth smirked. “Easy now, you two, there’s plenty for everyone.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

On the rare occasion they could all be together for breakfast, big and greasy was the order of the day. Angeal fried up bacon and sausage, and cooked up a farm’s worth of eggs in the bacon grease. He gave serious consideration to opening a diner as a retirement plan, assuming he lived that long. It would be a quiet existence compared to SOLDIER life and he liked standing over a hot stove. Plus he could always hire a waitress or two to handle the difficult customers.

“Angeal!” Genesis banged his mug on the table. “Pour me more coffee.”

“If I turn around now the eggs will burn,” Angeal pointed out. “Besides, the pot’s right in front of you. You can pour it yourself.”

“No, I can’t,” Genesis said. Angeal rolled his eyes at the tone. Genesis slumped forward on the table. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Come on, now, Gen, I didn’t keep you up that late.” Angeal smirked over the eggs and gave them another stir.

“But your elbow was in my ribs half the night!” Genesis groaned. “And you kept rolling on my hair.”

Sephiroth peered out from behind the newspaper. “How can anybody roll on your hair, Genesis? It’s… short.”

“Ask Angeal, he’s the one who was doing it.”

“You were kicking me,” Zack put in, yawning at his toast. “Every time Angeal poked you, you kicked me. And you hold me too tight. How am I supposed to roll over?” Cloud grunted in agreement, almost dozing with a glass of milk in his hand.

Sephiroth frowned and took the glass away. “The bed is a little cramped with all of us in it.”

Genesis sighed. “You suppose we should trade up?”

“What size do you have now?” Cloud asked, waking up with all the chatter.

“It’s a queen,” Genesis said. Zack snorted. “Yuk it up, puppy, I’m not the one crawling down in the middle of the night to sleep at everyone’s feet.”

“That’s the one part of the bed that has any room,” Zack said. “Besides, I get to touch everybody, even if it’s just their feet.”

“Stop pulling my toes in the morning,” Cloud said.

Zack leered. “You quit making that cute face when I do and we’ll see.”

Genesis watched them, most content. Some things were just better than coffee in the morning. “So, you all think we should move up to a ‘King’?”

“Costa del Sol King might be better,” Sephiroth said, “especially if Zack insists on indulging this secret foot fetish of his.”

Zack did not bat an eye, too busy teasing Cloud. “Wanna bite my bacon?” he said, waving a strip just out of Cloud’s reach.

“I’ll bite your sausage if you don’t quit it.”

“Easy, you two,” Angeal warned, serving up scrambled eggs. “Gen, do you really need the extravagance?”

“What extravagance?” Genesis asked. “This is a necessity. Good sleep is important and I’m not getting enough.”

“I’m rather pressed for space on my end too,” Sephiroth said. “That’s why I have to squeeze so close to Cloud.”

Angeal rolled his eyes. “Like you wouldn’t do that anyway.”

“I’m getting squashed, though,” Cloud said. “There’s hardly room to turn and you guys are so much… bigger.”

“There, see, Angeal?” Genesis speared himself some more bacon. “We all need better sleep. Sephiroth has no space, Cloud’s getting squeezed, you keep poking me and your puppy farts in his sleep.”

“Hey!” Zack frowned.

Cloud snickered into his milk. “It’s true, Zack.”

Sephiroth nodded and sighed. “When we hear the little poot, we know you’re out for the night.”

“Aww, man.” Zack tried to hide behind the juice jug so no one could see how pink he was turning.

“It’s okay, pup,” Angeal said, ruffling Zack’s hair. “It’s a perfectly natural function, nothing to be ashamed of. And you!” He shot a glare at Genesis. “You can just consider it payback for the Douzi mission.”

Sephiroth sighed. “Pretty poor payback, considering.”

“What mission was this?” Cloud asked.

“Just a little assignment from before we made First Class,” Angeal said, finally settling down to butter himself some toast.

“A bloody nightmare,” Sephiroth said. He looked so haunted that Cloud reached out to hold his hand.

Genesis waved him off. “You’re so dramatic sometimes, Seph.”

Zack peeked out from behind the juice. “So what happened?”

“Yes, Angeal,” Genesis said, peppering his eggs with enthusiasm. “Tell your puppy what happened.”

Angeal grunted. “Douzi is this little middle-of-nowhere outpost in Wutai. The three of us were sent there as Third Classes for… practice maneuvers.”

“Punishment,” Genesis mouthed but he did not elaborate. Sephiroth only sighed.

“Anyway,” Angeal said, “the supply train right behind us got ambushed and we were stuck there, completely cut off from the main base, at an outpost that was badly in need of supplies even before we got there.”

Cloud gaped. “Did you… eat people?”

“If only,” Sephiroth said.

Genesis burst out laughing. “No, little bird, we didn’t resort to cannibalism.”

Angeal nodded. “Douzi had plenty of food, actually. It’s just… it was all beans.”

Zack blinked. “Beans?”

“Beans,” Angeal confirmed. “Mountains and mountains of baked beans. It was monotonous eating.”

“We did have some variety,” Genesis said. “Hickory ham. Maple syrup. Brown Sugar and Bacon. Beans are okay straight out of the can so we didn’t starve.”

“No, we didn’t starve.” Sephiroth shuddered.

“You ate nothing at all but beans?” Cloud asked.

“Nothing but beans,” Angeal said, “and you know what beans are like. Toss in SOLDIER digestive systems and the atmosphere at Douzi was… unpleasant.”

Zack came out of hiding, biting his lips to keep the laughter in. “So what did you do?”

Angeal shrugged. “What else could we do? We ate our beans and avoided everybody as much as we could.”

Genesis rocked back in his seat. “That lasted all of two days.”

Angeal sighed. “There’s no way to keep a military operation running without some kind of contact.”

“How long were you there for?” Cloud asked, breakfast forgotten.

“A month,” Sephiroth said.

“You keep making that face and it’ll stick like that,” Genesis said. “Besides, it wasn’t all terrible. When we realized there was no avoiding interaction, we made the best of it.”

“Yeah.” Angeal snorted. “The men started having contests.” The boys collapsed in a fit of laughter.

Genesis smirked. “I won all of mine.”

“Well, you always were good at tooting your own horn,” Angeal pointed out.

Zack and Cloud howled with laughter. "Gaia, I'm going to choke on my milk here." Cloud coughed and Zack whacked him merrily on the back.

"Pull it together, chickabo," Zack said, though he was hardly doing any better.

Angeal snorted at the display and turned a disapproving eye on Genesis. "They're not so far away from twelve, but what's your excuse?"

“Pfft, like you’ve got room to complain.” Genesis pouted. “You sound like a damned foghorn.” Cloud fell out of his seat. Sephiroth hid behind his paper.

Angeal sighed. “You see, pup?” he said. “No harm done. We’ve all seen worse.”

“Smelt it, too,” Sephiroth said into his coffee.

Zack still managed to look sheepish, despite the laughter. “So it’s not a big deal?”

“Of course not, Zack.” Genesis slapped him on the back and pulled him in for a huddle. “But don’t even think about giving me competition.”

Zack went sly. “Well, since you brought it up…”

Sephiroth poured himself more coffee. “Just do it when I’m not at home, please.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Replacing the bed was a quick affair. Genesis had a preferred brand and mattress type and was not inclined to dilly-dally over the details the way he had with the living room. He simply traded up. As far as the headboard went, Angeal knew a guy who knew a guy, and Cloud learned that specialty SOLDIER strength bedposts made for a tidy little side business in some quarters. Within a week and with Zack as a willing volunteer, the setup had been tested quite thoroughly.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Genesis said. “Lots of room to roll over.”

“It’s not bad,” Angeal said, trying to tug a comforter over his ass. The extra space hadn’t done a thing about the blanket battles. “You know, Seph, you don’t have to press so close to Cloud now.” Sephiroth and Cloud both smirked. They didn’t budge an inch.

“Only thing I don’t get,” Genesis said, stifling a yawn, “is why your puppy’s still sleeping across the foot of the bed. Is that another one of your puppy play things?”

“He’s comfy there, I think.” Angeal propped himself up to check on Zack. The boy had taken a pillow with him and gone to lie where he could nuzzle Angeal’s feet and worship Genesis’s. He had also had a little round of footsie with Sephiroth until Cloud had told them both to quit. “You good down there, puppy?” There was no answer. Angeal nudged him. “Zack, you okay?”

Zack made a small sound. Genesis snickered. “Yeah, he’s fine.”


	26. Uprising

It took some time for Angeal to adjust fully to the little things. With five men frequenting the place, it could get crowded at times. He thought about asking Genesis to get another bathroom put in. The washing machine was so busy it looked ready to give up the ghost. There were squabbles over the remote, food disappeared at an alarming rate, and every five minutes, somebody was fucking.

It couldn't be helped, he supposed, with five healthy people, still mostly young, raging with mako, hormones or both. Angeal grunted a greeting to Sephiroth and Cloud, got an inattentive grunt in return, and made his way to the bedroom.

Genesis was dozing beneath the covers. This was still fairly new, Genesis turning in early. A dog-eared copy of 'Loveless' lay on the pillow beside him. Genesis kept several cheap paperback versions, nearly disposable, fit for bathroom reading, covert conference entertainment and being abandoned in the field if maneuvers left no other choice. Angeal put a pencil in to keep the place and set it down on the nightstand. He studied Genesis's sleeping face.

"I know it's you, 'geal," Genesis said, never opening his eyes.

Angeal snorted. "Didn't mean to wake you. What is it? Do I smell?"

"Like yourself. I like it." Genesis yawned. "Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to get in and warm me up?"

Angeal rolled his eyes. "Just a second. I'm still dressed." He shed his shirt and got to work on the belts. Genesis opened his eyes and made no attempt to hide his stare. "Enjoying the show?" Angeal asked.

"You know I am." Genesis shifted over and held the covers up. Angeal made a quick pretense at folding his pants and slid into bed. Genesis made a happy sound, running his hands down Angeal's back. "So warm."

Angeal settled in, letting his weight press Genesis into the mattress as they spooned. "Comfy?"

"Mmhmm." Genesis wriggled a little closer. "Where's the pup?"

"Out with friends." Angeal tightened an arm around Genesis, trying to fit skin to skin the way they used to. "Boy's got to have some interests outside this apartment." Genesis mumbled his agreement.

Angeal shifted a little, trying to find a spot where his elbow was not bumping on Genesis's hip. "Does Cloud have any interests?"

Genesis snorted. "I think you know."

"Besides that."

"He's a cadet, Angeal. This is as much of a life as he can have right now." Genesis felt Angeal frowning against his shoulder. "What? You remember how it was, don't you? A good meal, a good fuck and some tv, that was plenty back then."

"I remember we spent time moving around and getting to know people," Angeal said. "We made friends our own age and rank. We mingled."

"That we did," Genesis said, deliberately sultry.

Angeal smacked his rump. "You know what I mean."

Genesis hissed and wriggled away. "That stung! You have big hands, you know."

"Sorry." Angeal rubbed the spot, surprised that Genesis would fuss for such a light whack. He probably wasn't in the mood. "I'm just concerned he's not being socialized properly, is all."

Genesis froze. "This something out of your 'Care and Training of Young Puppies' manual?"

Angeal choked. "I do NOT have a-"

"Relax, Angeal." Genesis rolled over. "Goddess, you're tense." He brushed hair out of Angeal's eyes and slid back a distance to look at the man. "I appreciate that you're worrying about Cloud, love, but he comes up here of his own accord. If he has enough of being jammed balls to nutsack with his patrol during training, there's no reason to make him spend even more time with them."

"I guess." Angeal slithered in closer, rubbing a hand down Genesis's back. "I just don't know that it's all that healthy to be focused so much on bed games."

"Pfft, he's young," Genesis said. "Give the boy some time for the hormones to settle. He'll figure out his other interests soon enough."

"You never took any time to figure out yours," Angeal said, glancing at the copy of 'Loveless'.

"Yes, but I'm preternaturally gifted, you see." Genesis preened. Angeal refrained from spanking him again. "Don't worry so much about it, love. Cloud's nowhere near as bad as Sephiroth was at that age and even he figured out what else to do with his time eventually."

"Guess he did." Angeal tried to settle down. "So getting blowjobs while that pasta lady is on the tube, that's Seph's new thing?"

"No, that's been going on a while. I don't get it either."

Angeal shrugged and pulled Genesis closer. "Maybe he misses tits. Been a while since he's had a woman in his life."

"Pasta lady does have a well-formed rack, if you're into that sort of thing," Genesis said. He was silent for a moment. "They still at it out there?"

"Last I saw, yes."

"Good Gaia." Genesis propped himself up on an elbow to check the clock. "Maybe we should introduce Cloud to new pastimes."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal was getting used to finding Genesis already asleep. The question was why he was on the couch instead of bed. Angeal shrugged and went to the bedroom to toss his shirt in with the wash.

"Angeal?" Genesis lifted his head. "Come here." But Angeal had already opened the door.

Sephiroth was so intent on his task that his back bore a sheen of sweat. He leaned back as he moved, tossing hair out of his face as he tightened his grip. Cloud was powerless beneath the gloved hand. He clutched at the bedding and let the force move him, making soft cries with each breath.

Angeal slung his shirt on one shoulder and backed up into the living room again. Genesis sat up. "Told you," he said, patting a spot in invitation. Angeal blinked and sat down. He relaxed quickly.

"How come you're not in there watching?" he asked.

"Tired." Genesis slumped back to the couch. "Plus they deserve their private time. But I think you're right. Maybe Cloud does need some new interests."

"That's what I've been saying," Angeal said. "Not that I don't appreciate a healthy appetite, but the way you two go at the boy it's a wonder you haven't gotten him knocked up."

Genesis shrugged. "Pity too. Little chickabos would be so cute." He sighed. "Angeal?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I'm getting old."

"Don't say that, Gen." Angeal leaned over pat Genesis on the arm. "If you're getting old, I'm getting old, because I'm not that far behind you."

"Good, I'll have company." Genesis pulled him down. Angeal stretched out as much as he could beside his friend and let slender fingers play with his hair. Genesis exhaled and the fingers went still. "I found a gray hair." Angeal jerked. "Not on you, silly, on me. This morning."

Angeal felt a sudden thickness in his throat. "Oh."

"It's premature at our age, right?" Genesis asked.

"Should be." He turned. "Are you sure it wasn't just the light playing tricks on you."

"No, it was grey," Genesis said. "I plucked it right out and there it was, all pale and dead-looking." He flung an arm across his eyes. "I'm going prematurely grey and I'm not even doing it well."

Angeal rubbed Genesis's belly. "It's not that bad. Seph's already all grey, if you think about it."

"No, he's silver," Genesis said, pouting. "Shining, miraculous silver. Mine's going to be all brittle and yellowed-out. I'll be one hot mess, especially next to him." He clutched at Angeal's sweaty shirt for comfort.

Angeal hugged him close. "Maybe it will make you look distinguished."

Genesis snorted. "That only works if you grey at the temples. This was on the crown. It's going to be salt-and-paprika all over." He huffed. "Know anything about hair dye?"

"Not a damned thing," Angeal said, "but if I start going grey too, I guess we'll find out."

Genesis gave him a wry smile. "We can do each other's then, and afterwards we can do our nails, and get facials and make a whole day of it."

Angeal rolled his eyes and snuggled in. "You and your day spas."

"You're the one talking about people needing interests." They were both quiet as a guttural cry came from the bedroom. Genesis shook his head. "I was thinking, since Cloud obviously likes having so much power between his legs, maybe I should get him into motorcycles."

"No, you don't!" Angeal said. "If he gets a motorcycle, Zack will want one too and he's dog-stubborn about wearing his helmet as it is."

"Can't be easy getting it on over all that hair," Genesis said. "If you think it would help, I could give him a talk. Wouldn't be the first time I taught a young man to protect his head."

Anything Angeal had to say was cut off by Cloud sauntering out wearing just his shorts and a smile. Mako eyes tracked him as he made his way to the kitchen. The men shared a look as they listened to him rummage through the fridge. He came back out soon enough, carrying two cans of soda. One he opened for himself, sipping on the way back.

"You tire Sephiroth out properly in there, chickabo?" Genesis asked.

"Mmhmm."

Angeal could not help thinking that Cloud looked a little too pleased with himself. "Kid's going to be a terror when he grows up," he said once Cloud was out of earshot.

"He's a terror now," Genesis said and pulled the throw rug over them both.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was something of a relief that the next time Angeal walked in there was nothing remotely sexual going on. Zack and Cloud were on the couch, cheering on a bike race. Angeal frowned. "Boys, is Sephiroth around?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, he's out for a couple days. He left a note on the fridge."

"Where's Gen?"

"Reading in bed," Zack said, shoveling macaroni and cheese into his mouth.

Angeal frowned some more. "Pup," he said. Zack looked up, licking too-bright processed cheese from the corner of his lips. Angeal sighed. "Chew your food." He left the boys to their sports and went looking for Genesis.

"Loveless again?" he asked, closing the door.

"It never gets old." Genesis was propped up on a multitude of fluffy pillows and swathed in layers of fleece blankets. "I'm glad you're here, though," he said, setting the book aside. "I'm horny and I don't want to do the work. Suck my dick, will you."

Angeal sputtered. "Well, that's romantic."

"Oh, please, 'geal?" Genesis pleaded. "I really need it." He might have batted his eyelashes a little.

Angeal never could turn down that look, even if he knew how wicked the mind was behind it, but he wasn't in the mood for oral just yet. "How about a hand job?"

"Yeah, whatever, I'm not picky." Genesis tossed the covers aside, revealing the need for the rush.

Angeal stripped down and slid in. He put one hand on Genesis and got a healthy moan. "Lube?"

"Mmm, use the lotion. It's thicker."

Angeal took the apple lotion from the nightstand and squirted some into his palm. He put some on Genesis's hip too. "Getting a little dry spot there."

"Yeah, that's been stubborn lately." Genesis guided Angeal's hand back to the pertinent area and melted into the mattress. "Goddess, that's so good."

"Glad you approve," Angeal said, pressing a kiss to one bare shoulder. "Hmm."

"What?"

"You been eating enough lately?"

"Yes." The word became a hiss until Genesis caught his breath. "When I can get it away from the pets, anyway." The look in his eye showed he was only teasing but the worry on Angeal's face didn't go away.

"Should I cook more?"

"If you want," Genesis breathed. He turned on his side and pulling Angeal along. "Can't have too many leftovers these days. Oh, don't stop, 'geal."

Angeal brushed his lips against Genesis's earlobe and kept going. Genesis writhed on the bed, breathing slow and hard until the fire faded. "Gen," Angeal asked, his hand still trapped between Genesis's thighs. "You okay?"

Genesis did not answer. Alarmed, Angeal propped himself up and took a look. Genesis had fallen asleep without climaxing, leaving Angeal stuck in an awkward position with a hand full of softening cock. The door swung open before Angeal could even think about how to extricate himself.

"Whoa, Angeal," Zack said, eyes wide. "If you're that hard up for it, I'll put out."

"Yeah, you don't have to molest the poor guy in his sleep," Cloud said.

"He was awake when we started this!" Angeal tried not to snap. He thought he failed but Cloud's eyes softened. Cloud approached the bed.

"He fell asleep on you too, huh?" Cloud said, petting Genesis's thigh. "He dozed off inside me a couple days ago."

Zack looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "He has been kind of tired lately. He doesn't jump me in the shower anymore."

"Me either," Cloud said, looking rather sad.

Angeal leaned over Genesis, studying the face he knew so well. "Looking a little pale there too, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Cloud and Zack sat on the bed and pondered their redheaded SOLDIER.

"Maybe he needs more iron," Zack said.

"I could try that." Angeal said, already planning a menu. "You guys going to help me fatten him up?"

"Sure!" Zack said.

Cloud nodded. "But first, let's help you let go of his dick."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Sephiroth came in and snapped to alert. "I smell liver."

Zack and Cloud were huddled together on the couch, seeking comfort in each other's touch. Cloud looked up. "Angeal's cooking liver and onions," he said.

Sephiroth felt his stomach turn. "What in the world for?"

"Genesis needs more iron," Zack said, "so now Angeal is cooking liver."

"For everybody?" Sephiroth asked. The boys nodded.

"Genesis said he'd take a supplement," Cloud said.

"But Angeal insists that it's best from a food source," Zack finished. They pulled the one large blanket tighter around themselves.

Sephiroth heard the argument going on in the kitchen. "This is cruel, Angeal! I don't care how much iron there is. It's a whole lot of fat too!"

"You need some fattening up, Gen." Angeal said. "It's good, hearty homecooking too. You'll feel better, trust me."

"I'll feel like sludge just got deposited in my arteries! I am not eating that!"

"I made it for you, so you're eating it!"

"Don't mother me, Angeal!" Genesis said. "I am not your child!"

"Good thing too," Angeal said. "If you were my kid, I'd spank you for turning down good food. Eat your liver!"

"No!"

Sephiroth beckoned to the boys on the couch. Cloud moved first and Zack followed, trying to stay close to the comforting warmth. Sephiroth looked back over his shoulder as he herded them to the door. "I think a tactical retreat is in order. How does pizza sound?"

"Great!" Zack tried not to be too loud.

"Are we leaving a SOLDIER behind?" Cloud said.

"Yes, but don't worry," Sephiroth said. "He's fought this foe before." They slid through a gap in the door, listening to the battle as they made their escape.

"You are going to owe me so much for this, Angeal!"

"Fine, fine, I'll suck your dick, but only if you clean your plate!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Zack, get the frosting out of the fridge for me, will you?" Angeal got his spatula out. The cake was cool and ready.

"Um..." Zack's hind end wagged back and forth as he ducked down to look. "Milk chocolate or dark?"

"Milk," Angeal said. "Dark is Gen's thing, you know."

"Oops," Zack said. He kept his face firmly in the fridge. "Weren't you making this cake for Gen? You know, for the liver thing?"

"Yes," Angeal said, waving his spatula, "but I don't have to make it too good for him."

Zack crushed the urge to ask how dinner had turned out. He handed the container over without a word. It felt too light in Angeal's hand. "Huh. I didn't think we were out already." He popped the lid and looked inside. Only the lightest smear of chocolate was left around the sides and there wasn't much at the bottom. "What happened here? We just got this the other day. It can't be finished."

"Um…" Zack scratched his head.

Angeal crossed his arms. "Got something to tell me, pup?"

"Uh, yeah." Zack had tanned a little on his last assignment but there was a pink undertone showing through.

"You didn't just eat this all with a spoon, did you?" Angeal got his 'Empty Calories and Tooth Decay' lecture ready.

Zack shook his head. "No, we didn't. Not with a spoon."

"We?"

"Me and Cloud."

Angeal's eyes narrowed in his best Inspection Stare. Zack didn't fidget but Angeal saw the gulp. Eventually Angeal let him off the hook. "You two didn't stick anything in here that shouldn't be near food, right?"

"No, sir!"

Angeal sighed, defeated by circumstance. He set the container down and ruffled Zack's head. "Get me the dark chocolate then and you can have the rest of this. But just this once, okay?"

Zack yipped.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Angeal." The voice was a breath in the dark. "Will you still love me when I'm not beautiful anymore?"

"You'll always be beautiful, Gen." Angeal pulled him closer. "I'll always love you."

"Even when I'm all grey, and maybe tinting my hair blue like a little old lady?"

"Gen, if I could love you after the liver thing, I'll love you forever. Now go to sleep."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal came out with a towel slung over his shoulders. Genesis really was putting him through his paces with this payback thing. It was, at least, a win-win scenario, and Genesis slept like a fairytale princess afterwards. Angeal allowed himself a private smile at the thought.

The television was on but the volume was very low. Sephiroth never needed the volume too high. Zack had dozed off on the couch at some point, flat on his belly. Cloud was asleep too, settled comfortably on Sephiroth's lap.

For once, Sephiroth had his eyes somewhere other than the screen. His brows furrowed down while he tried to tug Cloud's sleeve further down the wrist on one hand. Angeal watched the resignation grow on Sephiroth's face. He heard the quiet sigh.

"Everything okay, Seph?"

"He's growing," Sephiroth said. His fingers brushed the exposed skin on Cloud's thin wrists. "He'll be too big for my lap soon."

"Young men do have a way of sprouting up," Angeal said, eyeing the strip of skin that showed beneath Zack's t-shirt. Sephiroth's shoulders drooped. "Hey," Angeal said, "Cloud's not built to get too big now, is he? Didn't he say his mother's pretty small?"

"But we have no idea what his father's like. What if it kicks in later and he turns into a three-hundred pound bruiser?"

Angeal took in the slender limbs intertwined with Sephiroth's. It could happen…. "I really doubt he's got that in him, but would you love him less for it?"

Sephiroth actually looked offended. "He's my Cloud," he said, tightening his arms around the boy. "I just want to be able to hold him."

"Well, you can't stop young men from growing, but I'll tell you what." Angeal looked towards the bedroom. "No matter how big your baby gets, he'll always need some babying."


	27. Deep Ground

"It was awesome, Angeal! You should have seen me out there! I was swinging and jumping and-"

"Pup, it's late." Actually it was so early it was painful. Angeal nearly stumbled into the counter, not sure if he wanted hot chocolate or coffee. "You sure you don't want to sleep?"

"I can't sleep now, 'geal! I've got too much to tell you! I'm running on adrenaline! I'm full of awesome! I'm-"

"Going to wake up everybody in the house if you don't pipe down." Angeal settled for hot chocolate. If he got Zack settled he could still squeeze in a couple hours of sleep. "Squats, Zack. Get going and burn off that excess energy."

"Aw, 'kay." Zack began to work his thighs, counting silently with his back to the door.

Genesis stumbled in with bedhead, his robe half undone. He stopped in the doorway and took in the sights. "Nice."

"Huh?" Zack turned.

"Keep going, Zack," Angeal instructed, microwaving some milk.

"Yes, Zack," Genesis said. "Do." He circled around and fumbled his way to a chair. "Good job with that," he said to Angeal, watching with obvious appreciation.

"I only started him on squats to keep him from bouncing all over the place." Angeal spooned some cocoa in and took a seat. "Helps him focus, you know."

"Of course. I see. And what it does for his glutes has nothing to do with it?"

"Nothing at all."

"Sure."

Angeal snorted. "Did he wake you?"

Genesis shrugged. One shoulder of his robe slipped low. "I wasn't sleeping well anyway. My dreams are getting strange again."

Angeal raised one eyebrow over his mug. Genesis's dreams were frequently interesting but he did not always want to share them. Now with company in the room… "Was it bad?"

"Terrible." Genesis stared at the napkin holder, eyes glazing over. "You know that one where you're a stripper but when you get on stage people start shouting at you to put your clothes back on?"

Angeal burned his tongue with the cocoa. "Can't say that I do, actually."

"Oh." Genesis slumped forward and took a good look at his friend. "Guess you wouldn't," he said. "The fights over your thongs would be the stuff of legend."

"Who's in a thong?" Zack asked.

"Keep going," Angeal said.

Sephiroth appeared in the doorway with a large blanket-wrapped bundle. He spared a sleepy glance at Zack and made his way to the table, settling in with precious cargo in his lap. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Angeal said. "Did we wake you?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I saw everyone leaving and decided to see what was going on."

Genesis covered a yawn. "And you had to bring Cloud with you?"

Sephiroth curled his arms tighter around the blanket mummy. "I couldn't leave him there all alone."

"Of course not." Angeal understood, eyes on Zack. The boy's thighs must have been burning but he kept pushing through.

"Why are you all out here?" Sephiroth asked.

"Waiting up for Zack," Angeal said, sipping his hot chocolate.

"Weird dreams," Genesis said, propping himself up on an elbow.

Sephiroth tilted his head. "You're not pregnant again, are you?"

Zack's legs gave out and he hit the floor. "Who's pregnant?"

"Nobody's pregnant, Zack," Angeal said. "Ready to sit down now?"

"Yes, sir!" Zack crawled to the chair and pulled himself up, looking from Sephiroth to Genesis. "What's going on?"

"Strange dreams, little pup, that's all." Genesis covered a yawn. "I get them a lot."

"Oh." Zack scratched his head.

"He had some doozies back when we were Thirds," Angeal said, swirling his chocolate. "Kept us from being bored to tears when there was a lull in the action."

"That's what the pregnant thing is about," Genesis said, eyes on how Sephiroth was rocking Cloud side to side. "I went through a phase where I kept dreaming I was expecting. It lasted a full nine months, from morning sickness right down to being ready to pop." He shuddered. "Angeal, don't ever let me get that fat."

"I won't." Angeal quirked an eyebrow at Zack.

"So… did you?" Zack asked.

"Did I what?"

"Pop," Sephiroth said, pulling the blanket further down over Cloud's eyes.

"Oh. Yes. Yes, I did." Genesis stared at the table again, mind far away.

Zack cleared his throat. "Boy or girl?"

"Squid." Genesis shook his head. "I never figured that part out."

"Want some hot chocolate, Zack?" Angeal cut in.

"No, thank you." Zack turned right back to Genesis. "How did that happen?"

"What, the dreams? Action was slow at the front. I think my brain was trying to keep me entertained."

"No, I mean…" Zack scrunched up his face. "You know."

"You know what, I'm not sure." Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should ask Sephiroth."

Sephiroth brushed it off. "Ask me what? It was your dream."

"It was your squid."

Angeal sighed.

"Who's a squid?" Cloud asked, stirring against Sephiroth's chest.

"Nobody," Sephiroth whispered, cradling Cloud closer. "Go back to sleep."

Genesis snorted. "Want me to warm you up a bottle for him?" Sephiroth ignored him.

Zack yawned. "I'm sleepy."

"Then off to bed, puppy." Angeal ruffled his hair. "Brush your teeth."

Zack made an appropriately puppyish growl. "Wish I could do like a real dog and chew a biscuit instead."

"Oh, no, you don't," Genesis said, wagging a finger at him. "No doggy breath in my bed." Zack yipped and went down the hall.

"If you're all on your way back in, I'll take Cloud back to bed too." Sephiroth rose. Cloud's hands slithered out of the blankets to cling to Sephiroth's neck. Genesis watched them go and sighed

"What's got you now, Gen?" Angeal asked.

"Remember what he was like back when the war was young?" Genesis wiped a mock tear from his eye. "Our little Sephy's all grown up."

"And going after jailbait of his own," Angeal said, finishing his drink.

"You've got no room to talk, 'geal. None at all."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis was a master of the grand entrance and when he strolled in from his shopping trip, coat awry, chest heaving, hair in complete disarray, he knew it was an award-worthy performance. He set the bags down and caught his breath, taking time to run a hand through his hair. "I'm home," he announced.

Sephiroth grunted.

Genesis huffed and flopped down on the couch. "Nice to see you too," he said, checking to see whatever had Sephiroth's attention this time. "Um, Sephiroth?"

"Hm?"

"TV's off. Did you know that?"

"Hm." Sephiroth exhaled.

Genesis risked a sideways glance. Sephiroth was alone in his seat and there was not a thing going on that would warrant averted eyes, or lewd comments and a request to join in. "So you're just sitting here, then?"

"Waiting for dinner."

Genesis leaned back. "No need to make it sound like an execution. Unless…." He sniffed delicately. "It's not liver."

"No." Sephiroth's head was turned to the screen but his eyes were miles away.

"Here," Genesis said, passing him a shopping bag. "You can help me get the labels off."

Sephiroth did stir then, watching as Genesis began sorting things into heaps. The new clothes weren't Genesis's style at all. "What are those?"

"New PJs for Cloud," Genesis said. "He's outgrowing all his old ones." He hoisted out a dark blue flannel number. There was a tiny chocobo embroidered on the pocket. Sephiroth's stomach twisted.

"Those look… big."

"Pfft, not half as big as yours. Or mine, for that matter. But I did get them on the large side so he can grow into them instead of out." Genesis shook out a paler blue set with a repeating pattern of tiny clouds. "Even if his frame is filling out, he'll be just adorable in this, don't you think? Seph?"

Sephiroth looked mournful. He stood and held one of the pants up, checking the height of the waistband from the floor. "Hmm." He reached for the shirt and flapped it out, making a rough estimate of where a grown Cloud's chest would reach and where his head would be. It came up somewhere under his own chin. Genesis would have sworn the mako sparked in Sephiroth's eyes. "Just right," Sephiroth said, with a very little smile.

"Dinner!" Angeal called.

"Well, I guess I'll see about these later," Genesis said, taking Sephiroth's hand.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sephiroth frowned down at his empty dinner plate, studying how his hair moved in the shadowy reflection for lack of anything more entertaining.

"Carrots, Seph?" Genesis asked, holding out the dish. Sephiroth took it with a nod and covered up his plate self. Potatoes came next, then broccoli and the lamb. Sephiroth ate without tasting and wondered why his knife seemed so noisy on the plate.

"It's quiet tonight," Angeal said. Sephiroth looked up. That was it.

"Zack's not here to yip away," Genesis said, topping up everyone's juice. "He makes enough noise for six of him."

"I suppose it is quieter without the young ones," Angeal said. "Take some broccoli, Gen."

"I don't want any," Genesis said.

"Gen." Angeal's voice mimicked his mother's so perfectly he disturbed himself.

"I don't like broccoli," Genesis said. "It looks like a little tree. It even tastes like a tree."

Angeal grunted. "You know what trees taste like?"

Genesis gave him an arch look. "All that wood I eat, you saying I don't?"

"Touché." Angeal set the serving dish down and busied himself eating. Sephiroth sighed. "Something the matter?" Angeal asked.

"It's…" Sephiroth struggled for the words. "Quiet."

"Thought you liked it that way," Genesis said.

"I do," Sephiroth said, but his brow furrowed. "I did."

Genesis smiled a knowing smile. "You miss Cloud."

Sephiroth sighed again. "I think I do." He contemplated the juice bottle. "I don't think I ever really did. Miss somebody, that is."

"Pretty natural thing if you're forming attachments," Angeal said, considering that he might have overdone the carrots just a tad. Shame about the nutrients.

"I'm hurt," Genesis teased. "You never once missed me?"

Sephiroth blinked. "You come back."

"Oh, that's why?" Genesis snorted. "Maybe one day I won't. Then you'll miss me."

"Don't rock back on the chair, Gen," Angeal said.

"Yes, mother." Genesis settled forward with a thump. "They'll be back in a couple days, right?"

"Day after tomorrow for Cloud, end of the week for Zack." Sephiroth helped himself to more lamb and scraped up some of the extra garlic for good measure.

"Somebody's keeping track." Genesis looked impressed. He nudged Angeal's foot under the table and they shared a glance over their potatoes.

Sephiroth swallowed his bite and set his fork down with a clatter. "I wish you two wouldn't do that anymore."

Angeal jerked. "Do what?"

"Look at each other like that." Sephiroth fiddled with his knife, rearranging his broccoli on the plate. "Like it's so wonderful that Sephiroth is finally doing something normal people do." He dropped the broccoli and the knife too. His head drooped forward till his hair was nearly in his plate. "I'm tired of people acting strange around me. I don't need you doing it too."

"People act strange around all of us, Seph," Genesis said, "It's the rank, you know."

"That doesn't explain everyone," Sephiroth said, vaguely wishing Angeal had chosen to cook pasta instead. Pasta made him feel better.

"Pff, you're just edgy without your little bird in your lap," Genesis said, reaching for his drink. "Who could possibly be acting oddly enough to get you so worked up otherwise?"

Sephiroth sighed. "Lazard."

Genesis gulped down his mouthful of juice. "Okay, I'll give you that."

"Is there something I'm missing here?" Angeal asked, cutlery frozen above his plate.

"He hasn't been doing it to you?" Sephiroth asked.

"Doing what?"

"Meddling," Genesis said. "Or prying, more like. I'm sure he's always known more than he lets on but lately he's been actually fishing for information. He keeps making these comments. It's like he wants details all of a sudden."

"Details?"

"About our sex lives," Genesis said. "More juice?" Angeal covered his glass with his hand to refuse.

"It's not all about sex, Gen," Sephiroth said. "He was nosy about work today."

"Was he now?" Genesis leaned back in his chair. "What did he say? Exact words if you've got them."

Sephiroth shot Genesis a slit-eyed glare but complied. "He said, 'You're not going to let Rhapsodos work you too hard tonight, are you?' So I told him if I was working tonight it would be solo and he said it's a pity we're at that stage already."

"Seph," Genesis said, "you told him you were going to masturbate."

"I did not." Sephiroth froze as he puzzled over the words and the tone and the atrocious knowing smirk Deusericus always seemed to be wearing these days. His slumped his shoulders when he figured it out. "Why do people even bring sex up at work? That's ridiculous. Besides, sex isn't hard work." He frowned. "Unless you don't know what you're doing. Or you're really out of shape."

Genesis frowned down at the broccoli Angeal had sneaked onto his plate. "Guess I should spend a little more time on the treadmill then. Last round I had with the pets left me wrung out like an old mop in the corner."

"That's what your old bones get for trying to take on two imminent hormone explosions at once," Angeal said. "Not that I didn't enjoy the show."

"Old bones?" Genesis sawed into his lamb with a significant vigor. "You didn't say that when you were jumping them this morning."

"Never said mine were any younger," Angeal said. He waggled his eyebrows to make Genesis smile.

Sephiroth picked his plate up. "I'm going to eat on the couch. Continue your foreplay."

"You don't want in?" Angeal asked. Sephiroth only grunted and disappeared, plate in hand. "What's this mood about?" Angeal said.

"Misses his little chocobo, that's all," Genesis said. "He'll be better day after tomorrow."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was like flipping a switch. Cloud came home and Sephiroth was calm again. Cheerful, even. In fact, Angeal would have called it downright cuddly. When he left them curled up together in bed he was almost glad for his early morning mission. Any longer next to their wordless nuzzling and he would have caught the cooties.

He hadn't expected the transport delays. Or the road repairs. Or the rains and the rapids that came with them. There was no ambush, no terrorists, no traps, booby or otherwise, just a serious of little stings and setbacks that could grind a spirit down. Angeal made a dinner of ration bars in the back of a truck on the way home and counted his lucky stars that the worst injury of the day had been somebody's sprained ankle and an itchy bug bite or two. He slept part of the way. By the time he crawled his way back up to the apartment, he had been gone for just over twenty-four hours. He wanted only two things: a hot shower and a warm bed.

The door opened to a darkened room. Everything seemed in order. Angeal busied himself stripping off his outer gear near the door. He had just started on his boots when warm arms wrapped around him and a firm body pressed itself against his back. "Welcome home, Angeal."

"Pup?" Angeal counted the hours in his head. Zack had beat him home. "Did you wait up for me?"

Zack nuzzled against Angeal's shoulder. "You wait up for me."

Angeal spun around and hugged Zack in the dark. "It's my responsibility to wait up for you, Zack."

"Is not," Zack said. "You just worry." He rubbed his cheeks against Angeal's shirt. "I worry too."

"Maybe I'm the bad influence on you after all." Angeal stroked Zack's hair. "You go get some rest now. I'll be right there after I shower." He caught the glow of Zack's eyes in the dark. "Go on, now."

"Okay." Zack gave him a small kiss and took him by the hand. Angeal let himself be led to the bedroom. Everyone else was already there, sound asleep.

"Full house tonight, eh?" Angeal said.

"It is now," Zack said, letting Angeal go. Angeal let his fingers linger on Zack's hand before sliding into the bathroom. He shed his uniform, dumped it all into the laundry hamper and stepped into a steaming shower to soak the chill from his bones.

He stumbled out of the bathroom half wet. Zack met him at the door again. "Here," he said, putting an extra towel over Angeal's head. "You're always letting your hair drip."

"Zack," Angeal said, reaching up to hold the towel. "I thought I told you to get some sleep."

Zack's eyes brightened in the dark. "I can't sleep without you."

Angeal smiled under the towel head covering. "Been missing me, Pup?"

"Yeah." Zack tangled his fingers with Angeal's and led him to bed.

"Here, Puppy?" Angeal asked. "The rest of them are sleeping."

Zack bent his head and slid backwards into the gap in the middle. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Hm, guess not." Angeal let his towels fall and followed Zack up the bed. It was a game they had played often, the alpha and omega, a dominant force ascendant over perfect submission. Zack slid back against the pillow, throat bared for attention. Angeal lowered himself on Zack with teeth and a growl. Zack writhed beneath him, spreading himself wide. His hips bucked against Angeal's thigh. Angeal reached his hands down to Zack's waistband. The few seconds separation it took to get Zack undressed were an unwelcome chill. Angeal flung himself back down on Zack, reaching for every bit of that warmth he could get, not caring who he woke.

Zack smelled of soap and himself. Angeal buried his face against all the best places. He trailed his hands down Zack's body, seeking out the most sensitive areas. He almost laughed when Zack reached under the pillow. It was a convenient hiding place, evidence that this had all been carefully planned. But what Zack pulled out was not their usual lube. It was the heavy, slick cream that they used for one purpose only. Angeal knew Zack couldn't miss the reaction that was having on him. "You sure, Pup?"

Zack nodded and handed Angeal the jar. "I'm ready."

Angeal glanced to either side. Sephiroth was probably awake and giving them barrack courtesy by making no sign. The other two were sleeping like logs. Pity, Angeal thought. They were going to miss out. He sat up, jar in hand and urged Zack to spread his legs as wide as he could. He caught one foot and kissed Zack's ankle, running his tongue over it to tease. Zack whimpered in protest. "Angeal! Don't make me wait. I've been waiting all night."

"Hm. Impatient pup." Angeal brushed a hand over Zack's cock and gave it a playful squeeze. Zack squirmed and pouted. "Okay, okay," Angeal conceded. He set one of Zack's knees on his shoulder and opened the jar. "You're sure about this?"

Zack nodded. Angeal paused to inspect his hands before opening the jar. He started with one finger. Zack accepted it easily, moaning quietly, eyes closed. Angeal leaned up over his student, taking in the calm eyes and blissful smile. "Got yourself ready for me, pup?" Zack nodded. Angeal added a second finger. Zack pushed himself against it, eager and ready.

Angeal only stopped long enough to slick his hand up some more before proceeding. The third finger had Zack gasping. The fourth had him reaching down to pull Angeal's wrist further along. "Easy, easy, Zack," Angeal said. "Don't force it."

"But I'm ready," Zack groaned.

Angeal smacked Zack's hip with his free hand. "Impatient." He thought he saw Sephiroth's eyelashes flutter. The cry Zack made when Angeal pushed his fingers in past the knuckles had Genesis stirring in his own heavy sleep. "Just a little more, Zack."

Zack's eyes opened and signaled his readiness with a nod and an angling of his hips. Angeal kept his eyes on Zack's face as he slid his entire hand in. Zack let out a small cry, reaching up to grab his head with his hands. "Pup, is it too much?" Angeal froze, watching how Zack's chest heaved. He felt eyes on him, Genesis's, Sephiroth's and Cloud's.

Zack's lips moved and his whole body trembled. Angeal leaned in to hear. "More," Zack said. "More."

Angeal settled back down and smiled. "If you like." He curled his hand inside Zack, gasping himself now as Zack tightened around him. "Easy, easy, puppy, just relax." Zack whimpered and complied, grabbing hold of both sides of his pillow. Angeal saw how he bit his lip. "Pup, tell me if it's too much."

Zack's eyes opened and he hit Angeal with his most wicked grin. "Keep going, 'geal." So Angeal did, breathing hard himself now from the heat and the fit and pure satisfaction. Zack was making no effort to hold himself back anymore, twisting and crying out fragments of Angeal's name. Genesis propped himself and was looking on with undisguised interest. He offered no commentary which was just as well. Angeal didn't have the mind to respond.

"Zack," Cloud whispered beside him. He reached up one hand to touch Zack's face. Angeal watched Zack turn into the touch. Cloud's fingers brushed Zack's open lips. Angeal moved his arm in a bit deeper to watch how Cloud's eyes widened when Zack began to scream. "Like that, Zack?" he asked.

"Yes! Gaia!" Zack began to plead for help, for mercy, for everything to stop because he couldn't take any more. Cloud began to gasp too, growing noticeably agitated.

"It's okay," Angeal said to both of them.

Sephiroth tightened his arm around Cloud, reaching down to give Cloud some attention. "No safeword yet, Cloud," he said, reaching into Cloud's pajamas. Cloud clung to Sephiroth's arm. Angeal could feel the added shift in the mattress as Cloud moved his hips.

"Angeal," Zack said. He sounded close to tears.

Angeal knew it wouldn't be long now. "That's it, Zack. Don't hide. Let me see you." Zack obeyed, forcing his hands down to his side, away from his face. Genesis took one hand and let Zack squeeze at tight as he needed to.

Zack's breath began to shift in a very familiar way. His heels dug into the mattress. Angeal heard the sheets tear where Zack had grabbed them. "You're beautiful, puppy," Angeal said in the voice he knew Zack liked. Zack tightened hard on him with one soundless cry, spilling himself hard over his own stomach.

Angeal groaned from the strain and rode out the waves watching Zack become a human puddle on the mattress. He barely needed the spare hand for himself after what he had seen. Genesis took a tissue from the nightstand and dabbed at Zack's damp forehead. "Beautiful, Zack," he said. Zack murmured something unintelligible, too weak to move.

"Tissue, please," Sephiroth said.

Genesis passed him one over Zack's flushed face. "You want one too, Angeal?"

Angeal shook his head, doing what he could not to disturb Zack further. "I'd better clean up in the bathroom. I'll be back." He slid off the bed, jelly-legged and unsteady. He spared a lingering touch to Zack's feet before going. Zack's eyelashes were the only parts of him that moved.

Cloud looked back over his shoulder at Sephiroth. "Can we try that sometime?"

Sephiroth smirked at him. "If you're good."


	28. Wounded

Angeal opened the door to see a crimson blur diving into the bedroom. "Don't look at me," it shrieked, "For Gaia's sake, don't look at me!"

The door slammed shut before Angeal was even all the way inside the apartment. He sighed. "Gen," he called, not expecting an answer. He took the time to get his boots off and straighten them properly on the shoe rack, giving Genesis a little time to compose himself.

"Gen," he called again at the door, rapping it lightly. "Gen, I need to use the bathroom."

"Then go to your place," Genesis said. "Don't you have one?"

"Yes." Angeal rested his forehead against the door. "But I'm already here. Come on, be a sport. I was on a desert mission and I had to stay hydrated. The tank's under pressure."

"Not my problem," Genesis said. Angeal could almost see the pout.

"It will be your problem if I can't manage to make it out your apartment in time," Angeal said. There was no answer. Ordinarily Angeal would have been prepared to wait Genesis out, but the situation was becoming a bit desperate.

"Gen, I know you've got a facial mask on. It's no big deal. I've known about it for years."

There was a small squeak from beyond the door. Angeal smirked. "Open the door for me, Gen, please?" He heard the sound of feet shuffling on carpet and hesitant breathing just beyond the door.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Genesis said.

"I won't even look if you don't want me to," Angeal said.

"Swear?" Genesis said.

"Swear," Angeal said, "Promise by my heart and guts, or let a moogle steal my nuts."

"Hmmm," Genesis dithered by the door. "Okay. But you can't come in until I say so!" Angeal was too busy jittering to roll his eyes. "Okay," Genesis said, sounding further inside. "It's open."

Angeal flung the door open wide and hustled into the bathroom, catching a glimpse of Genesis huddling on the bed as he went. He made quick work of it, rocking his hips around in relief as he counted down the stream. It took a while. Angeal made a sound of sympathy for his poor strained bladder, but under desert heat too much water was better than too little. After checking the rim of the bowl for spillage, he zipped up and went to wash his hands.

"Gen?" he called, "I'm coming back out in a little." He took his time with the hand towel, giving Genesis every spare second that he could.

When he came out, Genesis was sitting on the far side of the bed, back to the bathroom door. His robe was pulled up over his head. Angeal tsked. "Won't the silk strain if you stretch it like that?"

"It's just for a second," Genesis said. Angeal could see his fists tightening on the edge of the bed.

"Gen," Angeal said, "you don't have to hide from me."

Genesis's shoulders slumped. "How long have you known?"

"From the beginning, maybe?" Angeal ventured to sit on the other side of the bed. "Come on, Gen, you've had dry skin since we were kids. I've seen the size of your lotion collection."

"They keep making new scents," Genesis said. The robe slipped from his head. His back went rigid. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I've known all this time and I haven't laughed yet," Angeal said.

"Not on the outside."

Angeal exhaled. "Not on the inside either, promise. Now come on, turn around. It's not so scary."

Genesis steeled himself. "Okay. But if you laugh, you're sleeping on the couch for a week." He turned. Angeal looked right at him and didn't say a word. "Well?" Genesis asked. "Do I look like the 'Mud Man of Mideel'?"

"Nah," Angeal said. "Not lumpy enough. You been watching those cheesy horror flicks with Zack again?"

Genesis picked at the sheets. "He likes the cuddling after."

"What's in that stuff?" Angeal asked, gesturing to the paste slathered on Genesis's face.

"Strawberry and banana puree, a little milk and honey." Genesis shrugged. "We have to use the stuff up, and this is supposed to be moisturizing."

Angeal's brow furrowed. "Does it work?"

"Huh?"

"Does it work?"

Genesis turned away shyly. "I have no complaints."

"Good. Got any more?"

Genesis looked up properly for the first time since Angeal had come in. Angeal shrugged at him. "You know how it is, riding in the back of those trucks across a burning desert. I feel like my face got sandblasted."

"Oh." Genesis nodded. "There's a bowl in the fridge."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Genesis, are you home?" Sephiroth called. He noted the sound of the television and the two pairs of boots by the door. "Angeal, you too?" He bent down to work his own boots off. "I've been trying that thing you recommended, Gen, about pretending that everybody is always talking about sex." He straightened, one boot in hand. "It's pretty entertaining."

"Good for you, Seph," Angeal called.

"I've never had that much fun at a meeting in my life," Sephiroth said. "Tseng's got quite a mouth on him, when he bothers to use it."

"I'd just bet," Genesis snickered.

"Lazard seemed twitchy today, though," Sephiroth said, moving into the kitchen for a glass of water. "Do you think he was on to me?"

He came back out to find Angeal parked on the couch in his pajamas, his face covered in some sort of lumpy goo, one of Genesis's occasionally homemade, never acknowledged facial masks. Genesis sat up behind Angeal, face similarly plastered, lifting one cucumber slice off his eye before waving shyly. "Hi there."

Sephiroth cocked his head to one side, then turned his gaze to Angeal. "Strawberry and banana," Angeal said. "My skin does feel pretty good now, actually. Thanks, Gen."

"You're welcome." Genesis sank backwards into the couch and set his cucumber slice back in place, heedless of being seen in his current condition.

Sephiroth shrugged and headed over to his chair. "I guess everybody's trying new things today."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"We might have a problem," Lazard said.

"What, no more honeysuckle lube in the store again?" Kunsel asked.

"No, no, I made sure I stocked up properly after the last time," Lazard said. "I mean there might be a problem with Sephiroth and Genesis."

"Uh oh." Kunsel jammed his helmet down tighter. "Trouble in paradise?"

Lazard sighed. "I suspect so. Today, I think General Sephiroth was actually flirting with me."

"You sure it wasn't just..." Kunsel's lips made the slight twist they did when the hidden part of his face was frowning hard. "You know what my grandma used to say, 'Make sure the glimmer in their eyes isn't just a reflection from your own'."

Lazard bowed his head so his glasses would not catch the light. "I'd like to think I've maintained a certain level of discretion. Besides, he's a married man and I'm not about to interfere with that. It would be messy, and bad for morale." He sighed. "If he's got a wandering eye now, we're going to have a problem anyway."

"You really think so?"

"Breakups are messy."

Kunsel shrugged. "They kept the wedding under wraps. Heck, the whole relationship is something you have to squint to see." Not for the first time, Kunsel wished he had a way to sneak a bug, a camera, a personal secret agent into the relevant living quarters.

Lazard shook his head. "Divorce is an ugly affair, from what I know."

"Maybe they'll have a no fault one," Kunsel said, rubbing his arms against the office chill. "They could just go their separate ways? It's not like they've got custody to fight over or anything. Not even a canary."

"Let's hope for their sake, and SOLDIER's, they remain discreet." Lazard sat back in his chair. "Speaking of which…."

"The camera feeds are all rerouted, Sir," Kunsel said, saluting sharply.

"Good." Lazard steepled his fingers. "Because while I do appreciate that Helmet Only look you've got going on, there's no point scandalizing security."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The good part of sleeping with Zack Fair was that the young man was a cuddler. He didn't have the height and weight of Angeal yet, but he latched on to his sleeping partner like a barnacle on a hull. It was cozy sleeping with him, warm and comforting.

The down side of sleeping with Zack Fair was trying to get the hell out of bed. Genesis slid one leg out of bed, feeling around for his bedroom slippers. If he stretched just right, he could slide out from under Zack's arms without waking him and get on with the necessary business.

He gain two inches along the mattress. Zack had other ideas. He instinctively moved closer to his heat source and grabbed on tight when he'd caught it. Said heat source sighed and considered waiting till morning.

Alas, there were hazards to the occasional glass of red wine before bed and morning was too far away. Genesis inched sideways to try again.

This time Zack threw a leg over Genesis's hips, trapping the man in place with a knee pressing dangerously against his bladder. "Okay, that's enough," Genesis said. "Zack! Wake up!"

"What? Invaders?" Zack sat up, awake on a physical level if nothing else.

"I have to pee, Zack," Genesis said. "You need to let me go."

"Oh." Zack shifted away, diving into the warm part of the covers. Genesis lurched through the dark and almost missed the bathroom light switch in his hurry to get inside. Pajama pants were much easier to deal with than fatigues. Genesis breathed deep and allowed a small pang of sympathy for what he had put Angeal through earlier in the week. The pressure soon eased and he shook himself off. He made the mistake of looking down into the bowl as he did. The water was red.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Puppy, this is not the time," Angeal began, gesturing for more cover fire with his free hand.

"But it's an emergency!" Zack wailed. "Genesis fainted and there's blood and I don't know who else to call!"

"Wait, Genesis passed out?" A bullet whizzed past Angeal's face and hit the dirt in front of his knee. "Did he hit his head?"

"I don't think so. But Angeal, the blood!"

"He's bleeding?" Angeal held his sword up to deflect the hail of artillery. Sephiroth got tired of waiting and charged on alone. "If he didn't hit his head, where's it coming from?"

"It's in the toilet!" Zack was sounding near hysterical now. Or maybe that whine was the rocket fire.

Angeal stuck a thumb in his other ear to hear better. "What are you saying, he's passing blood?"

"He's pissing blood!"

An arrow thunked into the tree trunk beside Angeal's head. "The hell?" he said, looking around. The sounds of a scuffle came over the phone. "Puppy?"

"It's me, Angeal," Genesis said, sounding a little breathless. "I'm fine, I just got a little woozy and Zack got scared, I'll let you get back to the warmongering now."

"Hold up," Angeal said. "Are you passing blood?" There was quiet on the line.

"Yes," Genesis allowed, finally. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Are you getting enough water?"

"I think so. Now, Angeal, dear, I can hear the battle raging, and I'm sure you're aching to get on with that, so I'll see somebody in the morning and I eagerly await your mother-henning when you get back. Don't worry about a thing, sweetie, l love you."

"You sure?"

"That I love you? Of course."

Angeal snorted. "No, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, dear."Genesis liked to think he had nonchalant down to an art. "It was probably something I ate. I did drink some red wine before bed. Love ya, sweetie, bye!"

Angeal stared at the phone. "What the hell is going on back there?" A tree branch crashed to the ground behind him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Gen?" Zack asked. "Are you okay?"

Genesis stared at the phone for a moment before grabbing his head in both hands. "Good Gaia, I'm peeing blood!"

"What do we do? What do we do?" Zack was wringing his hands. Sword wounds were straightforward. This was something else entirely.

"Okay, first we're going to calm down," Genesis said, sensing that Zack was following his lead. "Take a few deep breaths, in, out, in, out."

"In, out, in, out, like this?" Zack asked, chest heaving.

Genesis nodded. "Yes, like that. You calm yet?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah, me neither." Genesis hauled himself off the floor, careful not to look in the toilet. "Okay, okay, we need to think, what causes blood in urine. What causes blood in urine, Zack?"

"I… I don't know! Should I?"

Genesis gripped him by the arm. "It's okay, it's okay, we just need to calm down enough to think." It embarrassed him how high-pitched his voice had gone, but Zack wasn't doing much better.

"I remember now, I think," Genesis was saying, "Maybe I've just picked up a little infection somewhere." He saw the suspicion on Zack's face. "Not from slutting around! I don't do that anymore, and SOLDIERs are resistant to most bugs anyway."

"Did you get punched in the nuts?" Zack said, still sounding breathless. "One time, my friend, Luxiere, he hit the climbing wall wrong during training and he peed pink for a day."

Genesis thought about. "Angeal and I did go a little rough before he got shipped out again… but no, that wouldn't have done it. Oh, wait!" He grinned from ear to ear. "Maybe I have a kidney stone! That's great!"

Zack scratched his head. "Kidney stones are what now?"

Genesis finally flushed the toilet. "They're easy to take care of. Might not even need surgery."

Zack tried not to watch the last of the discolored water swirling down. "I hear they burn like hell on the way down."

"Don't borrow trouble, puppy." Genesis washed his hands, scrubbing with vigor. "Let's go to the kitchen and see what's around. I hear cranberry juice might be good for this kind of thing."


	29. Intel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Homophobic slur

Sephiroth had always had an appreciation for variety. It stemmed, he supposed, from the long years of his childhood, waiting, waiting, endlessly waiting for some change to the vicious boredom of his life.

He lay in bed holding variety in both arms and feeling overly pleased with himself. Draped over him, tangled with each other, Cloud and Zack slept soundly. Sephiroth had put them through their paces and he was certain they would not wake for a few hours yet. Zack's breath rustled Cloud's bright hair. Sephiroth adjusted his grip to run his fingers through their hair. Cloud's blond locks were as soft as chocobo down, Zack's thicker, and tougher, but sliding like silk all the same. Cloud had the longer, slender fingers. Zack had the rounder butt. Cloud made beautiful mewling sounds as he was taken. Zack could shake the walls with his screams.

But they both curled up for cuddling afterwards. Sephiroth smirked. He ran one hand down Zack's bare shoulder. Zack was getting a tan again. It came and went with his various missions. A cinnamon glow overlaid the natural honey gold of his skin. Sephiroth quirked one eyebrow. Cloud avoided the sun when he could, too pale to do more than turn cherry red and burn. In the meantime, from the lack of tanlines it appeared Angeal's sweet little puppy was finding time on his missions to sunbathe in the nude. Sephiroth smirked and slapped Zack hard on the rump.

"Hey, whatsit!" Zack jerked awake.

"Are you sunbathing naked on missions?" Sephiroth asked, getting right to the point.

Zack slumped back down. "No," he groaned, heading back to sleep. "I skinny dip."

Sephiroth made a note to get himself a few Mideel missions with Zack.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Gen?" Angeal tried to nudge Genesis with his toe. The move unbalanced the enormous stack of reports in his arms. "Gen!" he cried, executing a nearly professional pirouette to keep the stack in place. Genesis would have been impressed, if he had been awake. Angeal saved all but the top file, which hit the desk on edge and tipped over onto the sleeping redhead. Angeal sighed.

"Mmph, what's that?" Genesis sat up, blinking. "Oh, right, Audition Day!" He flipped the file onto the top of the stack Angeal held and stood, running a hand through his hair. "Glad you woke me. I was having a really weird dream where Sephiroth met some girl and they had one of those… things, what do you call them? Tiny humans?"

"A baby?"

"Yeah, those." Genesis yawned, delicately covering his mouth.

"You feeling okay?" Angeal asked.

"What? Yeah." Gensis stretched. "Sorry, I just got done with the sadists down in the torture chamber. I guess it was harder on me than I thought."

"Was it bad?"

"No worse than usual. Make a fist, fill this cup, when was your last bowel movement. By the way, you got a mint?"

"Not at the moment." Angeal said, hefting the files. "Did they find the problem?" He resisted the urge to swallow.

"They're running tests." Genesis began to root around in the desk drawer, finally fishing out a tin of cinnamon mints. He popped a couple into his mouth and crunched them up for the maximum burn. "It'll be a few days before they figure out what kind of bug I've got up my butt."

"Bug?"

Genesis shrugged. "Everybody's got bugs up their butt, if you want to get particular about it. They gave me some pills in the meantime. They make me pee kind of green."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, enough standing around," Genesis said. "It's Audition Time! Let's get ready to make cadets piss themselves."

"Be fair, Gen. That only happened that one time, and it turned out the kid had a weak bladder."

"Ah, yes. I suppose I can muster some sympathy for the poor child, given my own circumstances."

Angeal rolled his eyes. "How very generous of you."

Cloud came out of the bathroom toweling his hair and looking as confused as a woke bear in wintertime. "Is there algae in the toilet tank?" he asked. "The bowl's looking kinda… green."

"Oh, that's just Gen's new dick pills," Angeal said.

"They're not dick pills, you moose, they're kidney pills." Genesis stretched himself out full length on the couch, feet in Angeal's lap.

"It's your kidneys?" Cloud exhaled and flopped down on Sephiroth's chair. "Zack will be glad to know. Meanwhile, flush twice, will ya?"

"I did," Genesis said, "but that color is real tenacious." He rustled the papers in front of him for a moment. "Hey, 'geal, did Lazard mention any northern missions coming up? I want to go pee my name in the snow."

Angeal lowered his file and stared at Genesis. "You know what, just do what you want, you know you're going to. Don't know why I bother."

Genesis scratched a spot inside his arm and grinned at Cloud. "Hey, little bird, care to chirp with me a while?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "What do you need?"

"Dirt from the source," Genesis crowed.

Angeal looked up. "When's your audition, Cloud?"

"Audition?" Cloud cocked his head. "You mean the interview? 'Why do you want to be a SOLDIER' and all that? Day after tomorrow."

"Good," Genesis said. "You can give us the heads up on some of these hopefuls we'll be meeting."

"Gen," Angeal said, "We can't-"

"I'm not telling him anything, I'm asking him things." Genesis made a whirring gesticulation in the air. "You know, so we can be more personable when we talk to the kids. Don't need anybody else wetting the carpet."

Cloud's eyes widened. "People piss themselves? What the hell do you do in there?"

"Nothing too terrifying," Angeal said, "And that was just one time with extenuating medical circumstances."

"Oh." Cloud relaxed, melting into Sephiroth's chair. "Like Gen." Angeal flicked Genesis on his ankle before he could voice a protest.

Genesis sighed and sipped his cranberry juice. "Anyhow, I've got a few questions about tomorrow's lineup."

"Fire away," Cloud said, piling his towel into his lap. Sephiroth's chair had seen better days but that was no reason to put sodden terry cloth on the old leather.

"This guy," Genesis said, "Henry McIntyre-Dick." He leaned in. "So do you all call him Entire-Dick or what?"

"Gen," Angeal said, swatting him with a file.

"What? I want to know."

Angeal sighed. "I thought you were trying to be productive. Serves me right for thinking you have a better nature."

Genesis wagged a finger at him. "You really ought to know better by now."

Cloud snorted. "We used to called him 'My Entire Dick', but it's just 'Whole Dick' now. Less of a mouthful."

"Which makes for easier blowjobs," Genesis said. Angeal hid his face in his work. "Ohmahgod, ohmahgod, this one," Genesis continued, flapping a hand, "Marcus Poots."

"With pride."

"My kinda guy." Genesis reached for the next file in the stack. "Gaia, look at this poor faggot."

"Genesis!" Angeal smacked him. "Just because you can say it doesn't mean it's nice."

"I'm being serious, 'Geal." Genesis scrambled upright and showed Angeal the open file. This SOLDIER-hopeful was a tall one, spindly even, and stuck in that phase of adolescence where everything was growing at its own speed. "That's the poor kid's name. F-A-G-E-…" He stopped. "Maybe it's pronounced 'Fazhay'."

"Nope, it's Faget," Cloud said. "He's straight as it gets."

"Huh." Genesis looked the profile pictures up and down. "That's probably for the best," he said, and put the file down. Angeal called him a shallow ass and went to check his roast.

"The poor child," Genesis continued, putting one arm behind his head. "At least he's in the right place. We're all about bad last names in SOLDIER. Well, except Sephiroth, because he doesn't have one."

Cloud got up and settled in along Genesis, head under the man's chin. "Is 'Strife' good enough?"

Genesis made room for him and kissed Cloud's hair. "We took 'Fair', didn't we?"

"But what about Angeal? 'Hewley' is pretty normal."

Genesis craned his neck and glanced at the kitchen door. He settled back down on the couch and bent close to Cloud's ear. "We make exceptions for enormous cock."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lenine2 reminded me on LJ that this story had a draft and a plan, so here's a new chapter, pretty short for four years in the making.


	30. Air Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man down. Emergency Airlift requested.

“… and to protect people, especially those closest to me.”

“Closest to you?” Lazard raised an eyebrow over steepled fingers. 

Cloud nodded in affirmation to a question left undefined. “We all have those dearest to us,” he said, unaware of how his eyes grew glazed and distant. “The ones who support us and inspire us. Our motivation for everything else that needs to be done.”

Lazard ran his gaze down the open file hidden behind his viewscreen. “I understand your mother still lives in Nibelheim.”

Cloud shook back to reality. “Yes. My mother.” 

“You are an only child, am I correct? Of a single parent?”

Cloud swallowed but didn’t choke. “Correct on both counts, Sir.”

“Your mother would be the one responsible for your strong drive, I imagine.”

The look in the young man’s eyes grew distant. Memories of home, perhaps. “She’s been influential, Sir.” Cloud fidgeted a little in his seat. 

“Looking forward to bringing her to the city, are you?”

Cloud blinked. “My pay grade wouldn’t begin to cover that,” he began. 

“If you got the increases commensurate with admission to the SOLDIER program,” Lazard said, “I’m sure expense would not be an issue.”

Cloud looked thoughtful in a way he never realized other people found extremely fetching. Lazard found his gaze drawn to the flow of light over the young man’s cheek. “Depends on what she wants, Sir. She always felt our Nibel roots more than I did.”

“Will you be fine without your main ‘inspiration’, as you put it?”

“You don’t need to be there to be there for someone,” Cloud said. “And I’ve found plenty of good support right here in the city.”

“Have you?”

“Yeah, Uh, yes, sir.” There was a softening of the gaze, the hint of a smile and a half shade of blush that combined to make an expression Lazard considered himself very familiar with. Young Strife had found romance. 

“That’s good,” was all Lazard said. 

The silence lasted a little more than appropriate. “Is there anything else you’d like to know, Sir?” Cloud asked. 

He was not cowed by rank, a good trait to have in an operation headed by some of the most impressive specimens on the Planet. Lazard hid a smile. “No, I think that will suffice. Good luck with the rest of your assessments, cadet.”

He stood and offered a hand. Cloud had a firm grip. He probably spent time with practice swords, or even broom handles, the way many of the hopefuls did. Cloud thanked him, quite polite and rather refined for a backwater boy. Mrs. Strife had done her job well. 

Lazard took his seat again when the door slid closed, and scanned Cloud Strife’s file. There was a line in the psych evaluation section that claimed the boy did not bond well with others. Lazard snorted. “Boy’s attention is occupied elsewhere, is all,” he muttered, recalling the rose that had invaded the boy’s cheek. “I’m sure he’s bonding well enough.”

“Yeah,” Kunsel said from under the desk, back to giving the Director a foot massage. “Kid that pretty will get rolled six ways from Sunday.” 

Lazard hummed in agreement. He required only two ways himself, most days, and for under-desk eavesdropping privileges Kunsel had promised to deliver both. Lazard collated the papers and straightened up the file. “He’s quite adequate in a number of ways,” he said, “and if he does have some sort of problem playing well with others, I’m sure the First Classes can bend him into shape.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis did in fact, with the aid of a harness and several yards of rope, bend Cloud into some sort of shape that very evening. “And that is how you do suspension,” he said to Zack.

“Uh huh,” Zack said, mesmerized by the sight. Rope marked a crisscross pattern of knots across Cloud’s naked skin, holding him high off the floor, arms bound behind him, back arched, thighs parted as if in invitation, blindfolded, gagged, in a slow sway. 

“Now you want to check his peripheries every now and then, to make sure he’s…” Genesis wiped a hand across his brow. “Make sure he still has…” He paused again and dropped his weight down on the end of the bed, leaning over for air. “Blood flow.” His voice grew weak and wavy. 

“Mmph.” Cloud protested against his gag. 

“You want out, Cloud?” Zack asked. Cloud wasn’t signaling like they had agreed. Cloud jerked his head the best he could, directionless and blind. 

The soft friction of fabric gliding against fabric interceded, and there was a thump as Genesis hit the floor. “Shit.” Zack pounced, hoisting the man up over his shoulders. “On the bed, Gen.” He dumped Genesis properly on the bed, boots and all, and put two fingers under the man’s ear. “He’s got a pulse,” he called out, and Cloud stopped fidgeting, though his breathing was still panicked and harsh. 

Zack reached for the emergency cutter and went to work. “Rope’s cheap enough, right?” he said, busy at work getting Cloud down. “SOLDIER in need of backup, trooper.”

“Mmm,” Cloud said, and Zack finally had the sense to remove the gag. “Call Angeal,” Cloud said, “and medical. They’ll know what to do.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

“So it turns out the kidney pills were dropping my blood pressure,” Genesis said, his head in Angeal’s lap. Angeal was stroking his hair, rather like a cat, and Genesis was enjoying every minute of it.

“You gave the pets one hell of a scare,” Angeal said. His voice was still a little raw from the frantic shouting he had done over the phone. Genesis reached up with his eyes closed, navigating a trail for his fingers along Angeal’s stubbled jaw by memory and touch alone. 

“How’s the pup?”

“Fine, I expect,” Angeal said, leaning in to the touch, loving the miniscule tension of his stubble being brushed the wrong way. “Sephiroth took him out for ice cream.”

Genesis opened his eyes and examined Angeal’s face for any trace of a lie. “That’s going to get some tongues wagging.” 

Angeal shrugged. “Let them talk. It wouldn’t even be a lie anyhow.”

“I suppose,” Genesis rolled onto his side, nose pressing into Angeal’s rock hard abs. “Hadn’t planned to make things public just because I don’t have enough blood flow to my brain.” Angeal passed a hand down the side of Genesis’s face, the tips of his fingers lingering around the curve of an ear. Genesis batted at him. “Stop it, that tickles.” 

Angeal indulged himself in Genesis’s squirming a full two seconds before he complied. His hand settled on Genesis’s shoulder as they stared together at the TV. It wasn’t on. “Cloud’s doing okay,” Angeal said, very conscious of his efforts to make it sound off-hand. 

“Of course he is,” Genesis said. “Kid’s tougher than he looks.” Angeal grunted some sort of agreement with a couple dozen doubts still running through his mind. He would hold them for now. Genesis needed rest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“I still think you shoulda let me beat him up,” Zack said.

“It would only cause trouble for the company,” Sephiroth said, pressing the button for the executive suite floor. “There are hospital bills to pay, and equipment costs, and ‘emotional damages’.” He sighed. “And no matter how much hush money you throw at it, the story still makes it out, to the tabloids at least.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Zack said. “Just let them blind us with camera flashes at every turn? Write gossip columns about us?” He turned pale. “Oh Gaia. It’s going to be all over the net, isn’t it?” 

“You’ll get used to it.” Sephiroth watched the numbers glow in turn. The bulb in 15 had been out forever and nobody had bothered to fix it. He ground his teeth until 16 lit up. “Genesis used to keep a scrapbook of the nonsense they wrote about us when we were new First Classes. He might show them to you if you ask, assuming he still has them.”

“Seriously?” Zack bounced on his heels. Sephiroth reminded himself that the shudder in the elevator was normal at Floor 29, and not at all due to the puppy’s antics. “What kind of stuff?”

Sephiroth glanced aside from his number-watching. He weighed his words. “Most of it was… sexual in nature.” And not entirely off the mark, considering what happened behind closed doors. 

Zack only grinned. “Kinky stuff, huh? I’m going to ask Gen about those scrapbooks.” He cocked his head to the side. A thoughtful look crossed his face. “Hey, you think he’d like it if I got him one of those crafty packs?”

“A what?”

“You know, packs of pretty paper, and strings and beads and stuff. They’re all over the place, and if he’s into scrapbooking… Hey, he needs a get-well present, doesn’t he?”

Sephiroth snorted. “We already got him ice cream. Does he need glitter too?” A stricken look crossed his face. Zack saw the blurry ghost of it reflected in the elevator door. 

“Seph?”

Sephiroth turned, heaving a little for breath. “No glitter, Zack. Whatever you get him, no glitter.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

Genesis polished off the whole pint of caramel apple ice-cream that same night. To be fair, he did share with Zack and Cloud, feeding them both in turn from his spoon and enjoying the thought of it being a series of indirect kisses. He glanced at Angeal now and then, reminding him that there was still more in the container if he changed his mind. But Angeal only rolled his eyes and shared a sensible plate of celery, carrot sticks and ranch dressing with Sephiroth.

“You really should get some vitamins and fiber, Gen,” Angeal chided. 

“Life’s too short for that shit,” Genesis said, giving Cloud another caramel-swirled ‘kiss’. 

“Life will be short without it,” Sephiroth mumbled and turned up the volume on his space show. 

Full of sugar, Zack, Cloud and Genesis promptly experienced a crash halfway through the episode. “Time for bed,” Genesis said through his yawn. Cloud was already dozing in his lap. “Come on,” Genesis nudged. “Up, up, you two. The sweet, soft pillows are calling our names.”

Zack rolled over and groaned. “I’m going, I’m going.” His eyes closed again. Genesis poked him right in the crack. “AH, what the fuck! Not in my butt, man!”

“That’s not what you said last night,” Sephiroth said, suddenly more interested in the drama in the living room than the one on the screen. 

Zack groaned again. “I’m going to bed,” he said. “The rest of you can join me when you’re ready to behave like grown-ups.” He stumbled off into the dark. 

Genesis chuckled and watched him go. “Guess I’ll have to carry Cloud in,” he said, fighting the endless battle to smooth the blond spikes. 

“You’re not carrying anybody anywhere,” Sephiroth said, rising from his chair. “What if you faint again and drop him?”

“I did not faint,” Genesis said, “I passed out. There’s a difference.” But he let Sephiroth take Cloud from him. He sat back, alone in the dim room with only the crew of a pretend starship for company. “Pointy-eared bastard,” he tossed down the hall.

“My ears are not pointy,” Sephiroth sent back. 

Genesis sank further into the couch. “If they were you wouldn’t mind,” he grumbled. He looked around for Angeal. The man had disappeared. 

He reappeared with a crunching sound from a fresh green apple. “Who’s got pointy ears now?” he asked. 

Genesis fidgeted the foot he had up on the coffee table. “Don’t you get tired of all that healthy living?”

Angeal took another bite of his apple. It was no Banora White, but it had a certain charm. “No other way to live, Gen.” He took a seat. “You really ought to eat properly if we’re going to get whatever this thing is under control. You need good nutrition to heal.”

“I suppose,” Genesis said, sliding further down the couch cushions. “What minerals does béchamel sauce have again?”

“Gen,” Angeal warned. Genesis made a half-hearted swat at Angeal’s thigh.

“I’m kidding,” Genesis said. “Goddess, ‘geal, you do worry like a mama bird, you know. Can’t even spot a joke anymore.”

“Of course I worry,” Angeal said. “Sometimes I wonder if you worry enough.”

“Worries will kill you faster than ice-cream, I’m pretty sure of it,” Genesis said, shifting onto his side so he could rub his forehead, catlike, on Angeal’s hip. “There’s a study or something. I could look it up.”

“Don’t stress yourself, now,” Angeal said, and he stroked Genesis until the man purred. “I would like you to eat better, though.”

“Not liver,” Genesis said. 

“Okay, not liver. But spinach, at least.”

Genesis groaned. “Ugh, fine. But I demand more lamb chops to make up for this travesty.”

“Some lamb,” Angeal said, “with plenty vegetables on the side.”

“With cheese?” 

Angeal sighed. “Sometimes.” Genesis gave him an evil eye. “Garlic butter and herbs?”

Genesis closed his eyes again. “I suppose.”

“What would you do without me to cook for you, eh?”

“Eat fine dining delivery until my uniform didn’t fit anymore,” Genesis said. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Painfully.” Angeal sat back and chewed his apple. “I thought Seph was coming back to finish his show.”

Genesis shrugged into the cushions. “Maybe he got distracted in there. Want to change the channel?”

“Nah, episode’s almost done anyway." 

“Yeah.” Genesis was quiet a while, but Angeal would have sworn he could have heard the man thinking. “Don’t tell him I told you so,” Genesis said eventually, “but I like the uniforms.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Genesis said. “I would rock that little red minidress, don’t you think?”

“With the boots?”

“Of course the boots.” 

Angeal laughed and sat back, taking one more bite of his apple, chewing as the credits rolled. “Might as well hit the sack ourselves.”

“I guess,” Genesis said, forcing himself to sit up. He put on his most pleading face. “Carry me?”

“Nice try,” Angeal said.

“But I might faint again.”

“I thought you passed out.”

“Same difference,” Genesis said, waving Angeal off. He sat still for a moment, gathering himself. Angeal could see him sinking further into the seat. 

“Here,” Angeal said, holding the rest of his apple to Genesis’s lips. “Let’s get you started on healthy eating.” 

Genesis looked up at Angeal, for once completely honest and touched to his core. He leaned forward and took a bite. “Ooh, that’s tart.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Yes, Mother,” Genesis said. He stood and caught Angeal’s hand as they walked down the hallway to bed.


	31. Field Rations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SOLDIERs will forage for any number of things if they have to rough it. And Genesis is having it rough.

Once he was off the kidney pills, Genesis’s blood pressure went back to presumably normal. A little lower than average but that was expected of fit young men. There was no repeat of the original hematuria, no sign of infection, and no overt illness to worry about. Sure, he was tired, but the Firsts were being worked harder than usual these days. And his blood count was somewhat low, but not drastically, nothing some iron supplements couldn’t fix. He stole sleep on transports, both to and from the front. Surreptitious pictures made their way across the Shinra networks, of Genesis Rhapsodos, sleeping beauty, in his accidental repose. 

“Look at this one,” Zack said, shoving his phone in front of the helmeted trooper. “Isn’t he just adorable like this?”

“I dunno, Sir,” the trooper said. “Can you really call a First Class ‘adorable’?”

“Hey, would you call me anything but?”

“Uh…” The trooper hid his smirk behind his scarf. 

Zack pouted and took his seat again. “Fine. See if I share any of my pics with you again.”

“You made them public,” the trooper pointed out and dared to grin at the SOLDIER. Not like he didn’t have a decent collection of Sleeping Rhapsodos pics of his own. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal came home with two full grocery bags, not quite enough to feed a small army, but a special ops force, maybe. Cloud and Zack were out in Modeoheim together, pretending they didn’t know each other. Sephiroth was in Wutai, working alone. They would get a fabulous welcome dinner when all five were gathered together again, but right now, it was just Angeal, Genesis, steaks, red wine and candlelight. 

Or it would be as soon as Genesis got off the couch. Angeal poked him in the sole of his socked foot. “Gen,” he said, “I’m home. Want to help me fix dinner?” Genesis didn’t move, or even groan. Angeal stared at the man’s chest to make sure he was breathing. 

He was, in a deep and even fashion. Angeal figured his last mission must have been rough and decided to go ahead making dinner on his own. Genesis did not stir the whole time, not even when the steaks hit the searing hot grill. The sizzle and steam would have been enough to wake him out his grave. Angeal checked the thickness of his peppercorn sauce and took a peek at his lover. 

Genesis had rolled onto his side, nose buried in the couch cushions. He had at least taken the time to put his sword up properly, not leaving it standing around where anyone could skin a shin on it. Still mostly dressed, hair mussed and even snoring slightly, Genesis looked a picture of casual disarray. Angeal glanced back at the stove and decided to chance it. He pulled out his phone. 

So what if he was late to the party. If everyone else was sharing pictures of Sleeping Rhapsodos, he saw no harm in getting a few of his own. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Gen,” Angeal said, poking Genesis in the foot again. “Gen, dinner’s ready.” He grabbed ahold of Genesis’s big toe and yanked. 

“Yee- what’s it- murder!” Genesis kicked out and propped himself up on his elbows. He blinked under a fall of sleep-tousled hair. He breathed deep and looked up at Angeal, safe in his vulnerable state with this man. They stared into each other’s eyes, drawing out the kind of moment that had been too rare for them of late. “Angeal,” Genesis said, “whadya cook?”

Angeal flicked him on his heel and shook his head. “Steak. T-bone.”

“Ooh, somebody splurged.” Genesis sat up and flopped back down on the couch again, with an arm over his eyes. “I just need a minute,” he said. “What’s the occasion?”

“Do I need an occasion?” Angeal said. “We don’t get much chance to celebrate occasions with our schedules.”

“That’s true enough.” Genesis tried to sit up again and had to pause to catch his breath. 

“What’s up with you?” Angeal asked. 

Genesis looked askance. “I tried a couple of herbal energy boosters.”

“Gen. You’re self-medicating?”

“Hey, they were organic and all-natural.”

“So’s a rattlesnake. What did you take?”

“Just a couple of herbal supplements,” Genesis said, “and some mushrooms.”

Angeal folded his arms. “Mushrooms, Gen?”

“What? They’re stimulants. I think.” Genesis raked his hair back and looked around. “I felt great this afternoon, better than I’ve felt in months. It was wonderful. At least it was until the little blue people came out and yelled at me for eating their homes.”

Angeal reached out and grabbed Genesis by both shoulders. “And I get to come home and find you crashed halfway to Hades? You could have been dying and I was in there singing to the mashed potatoes with not a damned clue. That is enough stimulation for you, you hear. What do you need it for anyway? You got a clean bill of health.” Genesis did not make any attempt to fight. He slumped forward in Angeal’s grasp, leaning hard on the man’s broad chest. 

“Clean enough for SOLDIER,” he murmured, hooking his chin over Angeal’s shoulder. Angeal’s arms slid around him, wrapping him tight. He had to take a step backward with one leg to support their combined weights. He let Genesis rest in his grasp for a while.

“What’s got you like this, GenGen?” Angeal said. His breath fluttered strands of auburn hair. “This isn’t like you.”

Genesis took two deep breaths before leaning back, taking his weight on his own legs again but staying in the circle of Angeal’s grasp. “I’m not well, ‘geal. Not really. I’m tired all the time, and I’m slower, and when shrapnel flies past me, the little cuts take longer to heal.”

“I’m sure it’s not all that bad,” Angeal said. “They cleared you, didn’t they? Just a little infection?”

“They cleared me to fight,” Genesis said. “That’s what we’re for, SOLDIERs. We fight. For the company. And when we can’t fight anymore, they’ll have no use for us.”

Angeal wanted to put it down to fatigue, to weariness, hell, even PTSD, SOLDIERs weren’t immune. They had seen some things in their time. And the company understood. It gave them their medication, their R&amp;R… Shinra made sure they were patched up right before it sent them out to fight again. “Gen, this might just be the last of those mushrooms talking.”

Genesis shook his head. “I know how I feel inside,” he said, “and the company doctors aren’t listening. They all say I just need to turn down the next mission, or get more fiber in my diet. But I’m so tired all the time, Angeal, even when I sleep all weekend long. And I need two potions now when I only used to need one.”

Angeal took Genesis by the hand and led him to the kitchen, where the little table was spread with the red checkered tablecloth, two candles were burning next to an ice bucket with a bottle of wine, and two plates topped with microwave covers waiting, gathering steam inside. “Come on, Gen, eat. Before it gets cold.”

Gen let himself be guided to a seat. Angeal put the napkin in his lap with a waiter’s flourish, and lifted the plastic lid. Genesis chuckled and watched Angeal pour the wine. He didn’t touch the plate until Angeal was ready to join him. 

“Should we toast?” Angeal asked. 

“To what?”

“To being alive? That’s always good in this line of work.”

“Sure, why not?” Genesis said, raising his glass. “Here’s to being alive, coming this far.”

It was tempting fate, in SOLDIER, to ask for more. Glasses clinked in the low light and they drank. The steaks were just right, still warm enough, the potatoes were creamy smooth and the luscious scent of herbs and garlic was everywhere. Genesis ate his usual portion with obvious enjoyment, complimenting the chef with a socked foot sliding up his leg. Dessert was strawberry shortcake that Genesis had not even seen coming. And afterwards, Angeal took him to bed, tied him to the posts and thoroughly ravished him. 

“Angeal?” Genesis whispered, while his lover dozed on top of him. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Mmm, believe what?” Angeal shifted to ease the weight off. 

“About still being sick.”

“Yeah, Gen, I believe you.”

“Good.” 

“But no more mushrooms.”

“There were mushrooms in your sauce, ‘geal.”

“No shrooms, Gen.” Angeal tweaked his nipple. 

“Ow, okay, okay,” Genesis conceded. Then he sighed. “But I’m going to need something,” he said. “I need something.”


	32. Military History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old SOLDIERs have stories to tell.

Cloud came home to the now familiar sounds of Angeal hard at work in the kitchen. For all Genesis and Sephiroth’s brave attempts, and improvements, Hewley still had the most consistent results. “Hey, ‘geal,” he said, sticking his head in. “Need some help chopping or washing?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Angeal said, breaking pasta into boiling water. “Keeping it simple tonight.” But he beckoned Cloud into the kitchen with a crooked finger all the same. He kissed the boy’s forehead and handed him an apple. “Go keep Gen company for me, will you? He’s been a little down lately.” 

“You saw it too, huh?”

Angeal quirked an eyebrow at Cloud. “It’s Gen. Who could miss it?” He sent Cloud out the door with a shared laugh and a friendly swat on the bum. 

Cloud found Genesis in the bedroom in half a state of undress. “Cloud, sweetheart,” Genesis said, letting his pajama top fall to the floor. “I was just about to take a shower. Care to join me?”

“Sure,” Cloud said. “To keep you from fainting in the bathroom at any rate.”

“I didn’t faint, I passed out,” Genesis insisted. “And it wasn’t in the bath.” 

Cloud stuck his tongue out at the man and began to undress. His uniform he folded into a neat square pile with sharp corners. He would have to slip back into it when he left. The pajamas he shoved into the hamper. 

“Oh, just toss them all in together, Chocobohead,” Genesis said, ruffling blond hair. “Seph’s due to run a load of laundry tonight and you might as well have a clean uniform to sneak back out in.”

They waited twenty seconds for the water to heat up before stepping in, a luxury that wasn’t available in the trooper showers, or the SOLDIER communal ones either, to be honest. But rank did have its privileges. “You ever wonder how come nobody’s noticed anything?” Cloud asked, lathering up in the generous space. Genesis’s bath products this month smelled like cake frosting. 

“I’m sure someone has,” Genesis said, applying conditioner with a rather heavy hand. “But on these floors discretion is part of the deal.” 

Cloud pondered a moment. “Will I get in trouble?” 

“Not if we can help it, little bird. Turn around, let me scrub your back for you.” Genesis lathered up the washcloth. It was yellow with a printed beak and eyes, chocobo style for a little bird who was fast outgrowing such things. Cloud had grown in more than height. He was beginning to look proportional again, body filling out to match his frame. Not tall, he would never be tall, not around them, but muscle showed on his back and his legs. Genesis let his hands linger. 

Cloud moaned and leaned forward, resting his weight against the tiled wall. Genesis recognized the invitation. He rinsed the washcloth of all suds, letting it grow heavy with water in his hand, before wringing it over Cloud’s waiting back. Rivulets poured down, seeking the lowest point, tracing the new definition of Cloud’s body. Genesis pulled the shower head down and aimed, teasing Cloud with the water as he rinsed. 

“Gen,” Cloud whined, widening his stance. Genesis felt himself harden immediately. He barely managed to get the shower head back in place before pulling Cloud’s hips closer. They were wet, and ready, and Cloud was eager for penetration. He cried out a little and threw his head back at the first breaching thrust. Genesis bit his ear and held him tight, not giving him any leeway. Cloud met him the best he could for every desperate thrust, in the end just able to keep his arms straight enough to keep his face from hitting the wall. Genesis gripped Cloud around the waist and ran one hand down Cloud’s flexing back, admiring the rhythmic curves of the motion of fucking. 

It was quick and messy, Cloud spilling into Genesis’s hands the instant he heard the feral howl of the SOLDIER’s climax in his ear. They sank together to the floor of the shower stall and caught their breaths while the water took care of the mess. 

Cloud looked back over his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Delirious,” Genesis said. “We should get out soon. The water will get cold.” 

“Yeah,” Cloud said. They stayed in the shower ten minutes more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Well, you two look like a couple of boiled lobsters,” Angeal said, taking in the particular flush in Cloud’s cheeks.

“Yeah, we have a real good water heater, don’t we?” Genesis said. “I never really appreciated it before.” 

Cloud rolled his eyes and scrubbed at his hair with a blue towel. “Yeah, Gen, like he totally didn’t hear us at all.”

Angeal blinked in an exaggerated fashion. “Hear what?” Genesis giggled and glanced away. Angeal turned to the stove. “It’s good to see you with color in your cheeks anyway. Dinner’ll be ready in an hour.”

Genesis snorted. “An hour for pasta?”

“There’ll be fresh garlic bread.”

“Ooh.” Genesis put an arm around Cloud’s shoulder and steered him away. “Let’s leave the man to his work, little bird. He doesn’t need interruptions.” 

They bundled up together on the couch in clean flannel pajamas and two of the blankets that were part of the general décor now. Genesis reached under the coffee table for a very solid book. There was sound and motion at the door that made them pause in their snuggling. 

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Zack said. He looked fresh from a workout, clad in a tshirt with a towel still around his neck. 

“Gen’s going to read me a story,” Cloud said. 

“Well, it’s actually more of a picture book,” Genesis said. “Get on in here, puppy, I’ll tell you too.” He held up the book with an obviously hand-decorated cover. The SOLDIER logo shone out, dazzling in glitter. 

“Is that…?”

“One of my scrapbooks?” Genesis smirked at him. “You bet your tight little ass. Get over here.”

Zack did not need to be told twice. He stripped and tripped on the way over, pulling himself up and sidling in at Genesis’s other side. A little squirming and wriggling to get all the wrinkles out of the wrapped blankets and Genesis the storyteller was sandwiched as warm as he could wish between two fine young men. “I feel like a proper wandering bard,” he said. 

“Gen,” Cloud whined. “Share the goods.”

“Of course, of course,” Genesis said, and opened the book. A fine fall of glitter dusted the blanket over their laps. “This pic is from when Angeal and I first started training…”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“And finally, after all that sweat and tears and the drunken fistfights, we were being sent off to Wutai to meet The Great Sephiroth. I had such imaginings about how it would go.” Genesis lost himself in reverie.

Zack and Cloud shared a glance and stared back up at Genesis. “Uh, Gen?” Zack asked, reaching up to nudge the man.

“What? Oh, yes.” Genesis came to and kissed Zack’s finger. 

“So how’d it go?” Cloud asked. 

Genesis took a deep breath and stared down at the last shot of Angeal, in a Third’s uniform, boarding the chopper ahead of him. “Not as expected,” he said at last and turned the page. 

They stared, all three. “Oh. My. Goddess,” Zack said. “Is that Seph?”

“In the flesh,” Genesis said. 

Cloud shook his head. “But he’s so…” His hands flailed in the air, grasping for words that weren’t there.

“Cute?” Zack offered. 

“And short,” Cloud said, almost squeaking. 

“Mmhmm,” Genesis said. “If you ever wondered why there were no publicity shots of him from back then, this is it. Look at him, he was cute as a button.”

“Yeah, man,” Zack said. “No way anybody’s buying that as a First Class murder machine.”

“He made it work for him, don’t you doubt it,” Genesis said, exhaling into his hair. “I got to admit, I was a real shit to him at first. Couldn’t believe this pretty little munchkin was what I’d been dreaming of all along. They sent him there so young.” 

“So what happened?” Zack asked. 

Genesis checked both boys over for any signs of distress. “Brace yourselves,” he said, turning the page. “Puberty hit.”

Both boys screamed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Come on, Gen, it wasn’t as bad as all that,” Angeal said, waving his spoon.

“Oh, really?” Genesis said from under his blanket hood. 

Angeal fidgeted in place. “Well, it turned out pretty good in the end.”

“Pretty darn good,” Genesis said, “but there’s no denying it was touch and go for a second there.”

“I guess, but there’s no need to go making a horror story out of it. Look at them.” 

Genesis stared first at Cloud, then at Zack, and shrugged. “They look okay to me.”

“Gen,” Cloud said, tugging Genesis’s sleeve. “What happened next?”

Genesis smirked in triumph at Angeal. “See, they want more.”

“Mmhmm,” Angeal said. “Well, we’ll see what Sephiroth has to say about it when he gets back.” He returned to his pots and his fresh baked bread. 

Zack was still staring down at the picture in total disbelief. “What happened, though, really?”

“No one knows,” Genesis said. “Once his hormones kicked in, they kicked in. Hard and fast. He grew four years in four months, if you ask me, had the whole adolescence thing over and done with in a blink.”

“I wish I could blink,” Cloud said. 

“I’m turning the page now so here’s your chance,” Genesis said. “Now the uneven growth spurt was one thing, but then came the acne.”

They screamed again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sephiroth came home in time to share dinner. He sat at the table, barely out of battle clothes, and ate like he had not seen food in days. With his face down in his plate, he did not notice Cloud and Zack taking note of his face. They whispered together, things that were no secret to Angeal or Genesis, or Sephiroth himself if he could bother to hear anything above the sound of his own chewing.

“Slow down before you choke, Seph,” Angeal said. 

“Bu’ ah’m hungry,” Sephiroth said around a mouthful of bread. Angeal didn’t even bother to tell him to stop talking with his mouth full. 

“There’s plenty more in the pot, you don’t have to suck it down like a convict,” said Genesis. Sephiroth shot him a wry glance for the phrasing and kept eating anyway. 

“Didn’t they feed you on that last mission?”

“Field rations,” Sephiroth said. A murmur of sympathy went up from all present. 

“Yeah, okay, that’s not food,” Genesis said, setting more garlic bread on Sephiroth’s plate. “Wine?” Sephiroth shook his head. 

Angeal went back to the pot and dished up some more pasta. “Here you go. What’s this company coming to if they send you out without proper supplies and backup?”

Sephiroth slowed his chewing. He swallowed and savored the question. “They’re wearing out.”

“Hm?” Genesis got busy with the parmesan cheese and the grater. 

“The war,” Sephiroth said. “It’s wearing Shinra out. Going on too long. They can’t hold much longer, even with us.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Genesis said. “We don’t quite have them outmanned, but they are outmatched.” 

“I know,” Sephiroth said, “but Shinra’s been playing it safe for a while instead of going for decisive targets. I feel like I could figure out why if I tried, but I’ve been too tired.”

“Not you too,” Angeal said with a glance in Genesis’s direction. “To bed, both of you.”

“I love it when you give orders, Angeal,” Genesis said, grinning. 

Zack and Cloud were smirking too. “Can we watch?”

“That is not what I meant and you all know it,” Angeal said. 

“He’s grumpy,” Cloud said.

Genesis nodded. “We should take him to bed.” 

“Can I eat in bed?” Sephiroth said. 

“Well, of course,” Genesis said. 

“I meant food,” Sephiroth said, slurping down pasta. 

“You’ll mess up the sheets,” Angeal grumbled. 

“Don’t we always?” Genesis said. Angeal left the table in a mock show of disgust. 

“I’m just going to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the night,” he said. “There’ll be no sense out of you tonight.”

“You can have everything else you want out of me though,” Genesis said, giving Angeal a come-hither stare. Angeal opened the fridge and got himself a beer. 

“I know what I want,” Sephiroth said. “I want to know why there’s glitter on the couch.”

The guilty three gave themselves away in an instant. “Uh…” Zack began most eloquently. 

Genesis propped an elbow on the table and set his chin in his hand. “I was showing them your baby pictures.”

“You don’t have my baby pictures,” Sephiroth said. He frowned. “I don’t have my baby pictures.” He sat up. “I don’t know who has my baby pictures.” Cloud rubbed his back and offered a hand to hold for comfort. 

“I meant your baby SOLDIER pictures,” Genesis said. “From my scrapbook.”

Sephiroth’s face fell. “Oh. Those.” He shuddered. 

“Things came together pretty well in the end, didn’t they?” Zack said, forcing a grin. 

Sephiroth picked up his fork again. “I suppose.”

“And you know what else?” Genesis said. “The lucky bastard hasn’t had a single pimple since.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

The VR room was a SOLDIER mainstay, where they could train with abandon, go as hard as they please, and provide valuable performance data to the company for the good of all SOLDIER. Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis had not been there in a while.

“Why did we take so long to come back here again?” Genesis asked, leaning back on the simulated tower rooftop. “This used to be our thing.” 

“We found a new thing,” Angeal said. “Two new things, even.”

Sephiroth glanced back over his shoulder at them, eyes fixed in a silent warning about listening ears. There were few places, so very few, where one could be alone in Shinra. He was beginning to understand the logic of keeping the highly ranked within the tower walls. He turned back to the sunset without a word. This wasn’t the place for the things he wanted to say. 

Genesis pulled a familiar red book out of his pocket and began to read. His lips moved but there was no sound. A few good pillow smacks from Zack and Cloud had taught him the virtues of silent reading. Sephiroth wished he had thought of it himself. He huffed, watching Genesis read. It would not have worked anyway, coming from him. Too much rivalry between them, not enough care. At least, there had been. 

It may have been the lighting, a faux sunset, still in the early stages, bright and gold. Genesis’s red hair looked like fire. In comparison his skin was white ash. 

“How are you holding up?” Angeal asked, breaking Sephiroth’s train of thought. 

Sephiroth’s lip curved. Before Cloud, no one had really asked him that kind of thing with any regularity. Now it was just habit among all the people who mattered. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“No major reason, just asking.” Angeal said. “I know how you get expecting new SOLDIERs and all.”

Sephiroth shrugged, but it was stiff. “The exam happens every year.”

“Yeah, but every crop is different,” Angeal said. They did not mention how. Sephiroth crossed his toes in his boots because he did not dare cross fingers where cameras might see. “I think this one will be good,” Angeal was saying. “Plenty of good hopefuls this year.”

“I suppose.” Sephiroth stared directly into the false sun. Even if it had been as bright as the real thing, his eyes were built to handle it. “They’ll have to go directly to war,” he said, fists clenching. “They’re needed.”

Angeal sighed. “This war is taking a while, isn’t it?” He paced a short distance up and down the canon. “I remember when the President promised we’d have it all wrapped up in a year, with the three of us being Firsts.” He stopped himself right there. There was only so much that was okay to say.

“Can’t plan for everything,” Sephiroth said. 

“All the same, guess we should be glad, eh?” Angeal said, staring at Genesis. “If there’s no war, we’re out of a job, and then what would we do?”

Sephiroth watched Angeal’s back as he walked away. “Yes,” he murmured. “What would we do?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Lazard kept the scores under strict lock and key and the Firsts were traditionally not to be bothered with such details. A bunch of green Thirds was of no concern to such men, once the formality of an ‘interview’ was done. As such they could make no discreet inquiries without looking suspicious. But Zack, now Zack could do what he pleased. So they sent him down to wheedle. He knew a guy, he said.

But all ‘the guy’ could give him was that the scores were still being calculated. There was the overall performance record to consider, and any infractions to be taken into account. Attitude and general psychological fitness for the program was also very important, and being a subjective measure, was harder to weigh in. And tolerance to mako, despite recruitment blood tests, was a toss-up. Zack was sure his contact knew more than he was saying, but whoever that guy was and whatever avenues he had, he knew how to keep a secret. 

“Sorry,” Zack said. “Couldn’t get a thing out of him, but I’m sure you got in.”

Cloud shrugged. “It’ll be what it’ll be.”

“I hear that,” Genesis said with a towel over his head. “You’ve come far, Chickabo. Even if it’s not okay, you can always try again.” 

“I guess,” Cloud said. “But it will mean waiting even longer to start walking out with you guys.”

Genesis pulled him close. “We’ve made it this far,” he said. “We can hold on a little longer, if you can.”

Cloud buried his face in Genesis’s chest. “You know I will.”

“Good.”


End file.
